


The Green Soul

by Rachel_Lu



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 1860s, F/M, Fake Marriage, Marriage of Convenience, Regency, Spirits, Time Travel, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Victorian Attitudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-15 07:57:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 36,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4598904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rachel_Lu/pseuds/Rachel_Lu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and the Doctor hear about a couple who died of mysterious causes in their posh 1860s home and decided to investigate. </p><p>They soon remember the implications of being a man and a woman travelling together and have to play the part</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Rose Tyler had been pouring over the same very big book for a very long time. She'd expressed a moment of interest in the 1800s, and the Doctor had let out a cry of delight and bustled her into the library, nattering on about any piece of trivia he could give her. He pointed out a section in the library filled with thick, leather bound books that he was sure she would find interest in. 

"You get started on one of these," he said, "and I'll find somewhere for us to go."

He had dashed out of the room, leaving her standing, blinking, in the center of the library.

So, she'd picked up a book that was an overview of the 1800s as a whole and had spent hours reading about royals and marriages of convenience, finding herself completely enthralled in every word. The TARDIS had lit a fire for her, and a light had turned on next to her chair to keep her from straining her eyes. 

She completely lost track of time, forgetting all about the Doctor wanting to take her somewhere, and curled up more and more on the couch, eventually hunting for a blanket to tuck around her while she read. Every piece of information seemed like it was meant for her to find, and she was very much there to eat it up. She ended up halfway through the book before she reached a point of women's fashion.

"As the 18th century draws to a close, women's fashion takes on some changes. In art and architecture, many things from ancient Greece had become fashionable and this has an effect on fashion too. Skirts become narrower and waists higher. Gowns have less lace, frills, and ruffles. Some fashions in the early 1800's made women look much like statues of Greek goddesses."

Rose wrinkled her nose and skimmed the rest of that page. She found herself being much more fond of the women's styles with the ruffles and lace and frills. 

"the era of the skirt began in 1860, bringing with it the round hoop. As the skirt developed, the back emphasis saw the creation of the first bustle, which had appeared by 1868. The big, soft, high and very draped bustle skirt enjoyed its popularity for 8 years.

In the 1860s, the bodice waist became short but the dropped shoulders remained. Sleeves narrowed and although fitted at the wrist, a little width was available at the elbow. 

To emphasize the wide neckline on evening dresses, collars following the décolleté were made of pleated fabric, ruffles, or lace. In fact fringe, braid and lace were in their element and widely used. Fabric stayed lightweight with taffeta, silk and wool blends being the most popular. Dresses tended to be made of one fabric but with lace or trim for interest."

Rose hummed in agreement at that, finding if she were ever to go there, she would much rather go to the 1860s. She shuffled that away in the corner of her mind, saving it for later to mention to the Doctor. 

However, thinking about that time period did bring up memories of Reinette, and made her huff out a frustrated breath and turn the page of her book probably a bit more aggressively than necessary. It was hard to hate Reinette, though, because deep down Rose knew she'd been a good woman, she'd researched her when they came home. 

But the jealousy she felt for the other woman was undeniable, which frustrated her to no end, because she had no right to be jealous, the Doctor wasn't hers. She grumbled to herself at the thought and flicked another page right past men's fashion. 

She tried to push any thoughts she was having about Reinette and the Doctor out of her head and focused on her book again, ignoring the TARDIS's night cycle starting to set in, too engrossed in what she was doing.

Too engrossed, that is, until she heard hollering through the halls of the TARDIS. She lifted her head, furrowing her brows, and listened to the sounds of whatever ruckus was going on outside the library doors. She knew it had to be the Doctor, so she wasn't worried at all, it was just a question of what he was doing.

"Rose?" She heard him call down the hallway, his footsteps echoing off the grating of the corridor.

"I'm still in the library, Doctor!" she called back before burrowing back under the blanket.

The door swung open and the Doctor stood in the doorway, looking confused. "I thought we were going somewhere," he said sheepishly.

Rose bit her lip to keep from smiling at his expression. "M'sorry, Doctor, I just sort of got caught up in this book. It was your idea, letting me loose in here, after all," she grinned up at him. "I'm about halfway through it."

The Doctor arched an eyebrow and walked over to sit next to her on the couch. "Really? Halfway through?" He pulled the book from her hands and examined how far through she was. "Blimey, Rose, halfway through in three hours, how'd you manage that?"

"It's a good read," Rose shrugged. "I mean, I'm sure you've read it, haven't you?"

"At some point, probably," the Doctor agreed, dog-earring the page and handing the book back to her. "You seem to forget you don't need to research a time period before we go there."

"Yeah, well," Rose shrugged. "I was interested. Plus, look at this story I found."

She flipped back in the book to another page she had marked for later and forgotten about. "It's this part about this couple, Marie and Ben Glasser. They were this normal couple, good in society, pretty wealthy, went to church every Sunday. But it says here they both just up and died on July 14th, 1869. Everyone says it's a supernatural thing."

The Doctor took the book from her again and slipped his glasses on. Rose really did try not to stare, and was doing alright at it until the tip of his tongue touched the back of his teeth. She gave up and watched as he studied the page she'd left on.

"'Ben and Marie Glasser of Wales, England died in their home on July 14th,1869. They were found dead in their lavish parlor, dressed for the day and appearing to have sat down for tea.' Alright, odd enough, listen to this..." The Doctor hummed in the back of his throat. "'The two of them did not have any wounds on their physical bodies, leading neighbors and other people living in the area to believe that they were killed by a spirit'."

"So they obviously thought it was something paranormal, but that sort of stuff isn't really real, is it?" She asked. 

The Doctor lifted a shoulder. "There's something to be said for the supernatural. Most things humans perceive to be ghosts are just echoes from the past bleeding through the cracks in the universe to the present. But those pieces can't interact with those in the present, they don't know they exist. So no, I don't think it was a supernatural occurrence."

Rose turned on the couch so she was facing his side, her elbow on the top of the couch and her head cradled in her palm. She drew her knees closer to her chest. "So what do you think it is?" 

The Doctor threw Rose a look she knew very well. One that sent excitement into her heart and got her ready for any adventure that could possibly come their way, and for them, it could really be anything. He gave her a wicked smile.

"Want to find out?"


	2. Chapter 2

Rose beamed back at him.  "You mean that?  They're not a fixed point, or anything of that nature?"  She glanced down at the book and back again.  "We can actually see why they died?"

The Doctor skimmed the book.  "No, it's not a fixed point," he said, his voice very sure.  "And even if we can't save them, we might be able to find the cause and prevent it elsewhere."

She nodded, feeling her excitement build at the prospect of going to a time that she was genuinely interested in.  She bounced on the couch a little bit in anticipation.  "So you know it's not fixed?  And we can go?"

He shot her a wide grin.  "Yes, we can go."

If Rose were asked later, she would say that she most certainly did _not_ squeal in excitement.  She would, however, admit to leaning forward and wrapping her arms around the Doctor's neck.  He laughed and held her around the waist, his chin resting against her shoulder. 

It was one of those moments; one which started out incredibly innocently but accidentally escalated into 'definitely-NOT-just-mates' territory.  It was also one of those things that neither of them addressed, no matter what. 

In that moment, one of the Doctor's hands crept up to grip her shoulder, and she pressed her cheek to his shoulder, her breath against his neck.  He hummed slightly, breaking the moment, and Rose pulled back.  "What?" she asked.

The Doctor shook his head and returned his hands to the safer territory of her waist.  "Nothing.  Head to the wardrobe and get changed, the TARDIS will find something for you.  Also, pack a suitcase, we might be there a few days."

Rose nodded and tried not to be too disappointed that the moment was shattered.  "You aren't going to change?" She asked nonchalantly, pretty much knowing already what the answer was going to be.

"What's wrong with this?" She mouthed along with him as he spoke it.  He grinned at her and arched an eyebrow.

"The point still stands," he laughed.  "Go get changed and do your hair and..." he gestured vaguely, "Whatever it is you do, and meet me in the console room." 

Rose cocked an eyebrow.  "Whatever it is I do?" She laughed and shook her head, "Blimey, you're just like any human bloke."

The Doctor's eyebrows rose to his hairline and he stood up.  "Oi!  I take offense to that."  But he was smiling as he said it.  "When you come out, we'll have landed."

Rose nodded and stood, walking right past him.  "Let's have a safe flight," she  called over her shoulder as she left the room, leaving him standing there, sort of surprised at her actions.  She'd usually send him a smile on her way out of a room, or something.  He shook his head and headed towards the console room, deciding to play it off as a fluke.

In reality, there were just some moments in which Rose felt the need to escape from the Doctor, when she found the tension to be too much.  It happened more often then she cared to admit; her willpower could be shattered by the brush of a hand or even a wayward glance that she wasn't expecting to come her way.  In those moments, she found she had to excuse herself quickly to keep from jumping his bones.

Usually, she could duck out of the room without too much suspicion, but she had a hunch that the Doctor expected a hug as she left the room, or something of the sort.  That was only based on how she saw how confused he looked when she'd ducked out to head towards the wardrobe room.

Luckily, though, if he thought anything was wrong, he didn't follow her.  She snorted out a sarcastic laugh at the thought.  That was just him running from any sort of feeling or emotion, as he always did.  There were days she wondered if he felt anything at all. 

She pushed the thoughts away as she walked into the wardrobe room, the TARDIS having rearranged things to suit her current needs of a dress from the 1860s.  There was, quite possibly, what Rose thought was every color arranged over racks and shelves, sending her into the same awe she always felt when she stepped into the room.

She brushed her fingers over taffeta skirts, silk shoes, gloves and lovely ribbons.  The choice felt nearly impossible and the whole ordeal made her positively giddy with excitement.  She jumped back as a suitcase fell from the ceiling, landing in front of her feet.  It was leather and closed by buckles, and at seeing its authenticity, she bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly. 

Moving to open it, she saw that the suitcase was pre packed neatly with corsets and dresses and shoes, leaving her absolutely no work.  She moved one of the dresses aside to look underneath it and smiled a little bit at the realization.  Bigger on the inside.

She closed the suitcase again and stood, looking at the dresses again.  She hummed in concentration, looking at colors first to pick from.  She finally decided on blue, avoiding Madame De Pompadour cream colors at all costs.  Blue, yes, blue was safe. 

They _were_ travelling to Reinette's time after all, and she hadn't even realized.  She sighed to herself and pulled out a light blue dress with a low neckline and white and gold details along the bodice and the bottom of the skirt.  The short sleeves of the dress were slightly ruffled, and the skirt was gently pleated in two places in the front.

The back of the dress held a respectable bustle, smaller than usual for the time period, but something Rose preferred.  It drew in dramatically at the waist, and Rose had a feeling she would desperately need a corset, and at that thought, one popped up on top of the corset.

Rose found that there was a machine to help her get into the corset, and Rose had to offer the TARDIS a little bit of telepathic thanks to the TARDIS for making sure that the Doctor wouldn't have to help her with this today.  She had a feeling that if he did, his hands brushing her back, all self control she would ever contain would fly completely out the window.

She got into the dress in ten minutes, twisting and turning in the mirror to look at how she looked.  The back laced up to the middle of her shoulder blades, the top dipping down to the top of her cleavage.  The corset pulled her waist in and puffed out slightly from the hips, accentuating literally every curve she had. 

Her white stocking feet poked out from the bottom of the dress on her third twirl.  "Oh," she said simply, looking around for shoes that matched the dress.  She settled on white heeled slippers with little bows on the toes.  She slipped her feet into them and nodded at her reflection in satisfaction. 

She picked up the suitcase and headed to her room to do something with her hair.  She sat at her vanity and, when the TARDIS showed her the hairstyles, she wrinkled her nose and shook her head.  "I'll just curl it," she told the TARDIS, and did exactly that. 

As a finishing touch, she put on a necklace with a single sapphire.  Satisfied, she smiled at her reflection, picked up her suitcase, and headed towards the console room, hoping the Doctor would at least pretend to like the way she looked.


	3. Chapter 3

As Rose made her way to the console room, she found the white heeled slippers she'd put on were remarkably comfortable and she didn't even feel as though she were about to trip.  She made sure to be careful when she got to the grated floor, however, not wanting to get caught in one of the holes in it.

The Doctor was sitting on the jump seat when she entered, having already landed them.  He didn't look up from the TARDIS manual he was reading, but acknowledged her entrance with a "one of these days, I'm going to see something I don't like in here and have to throw this out."

Rose giggled.  "That would be something you would do," she said.  "Don't know what you'd disagree about with the TARDIS though."

The Doctor grinned, snapping the manual closed.  "Oh, believe me, Rose, I'm sure I'd think of something."  He finally looked up from his task and Rose didn't miss the moment where his jaw went completely slack.  He cleared his throat and his eyes drifted decidedly northward to her face.  "You look lovely," he said seriously.

Rose snorted and walked around the other end of the console with her suitcase.  "For a human, I'm doing okay," she replied, no anger in her voice, only a teasing tone that somehow filled the Doctor with dismay.

"Rose, when I said that, what I meant was-"

He was cut off by the TARIDS dropping a suitcase for the Doctor at his feet with a loud "whump".  He heard the warning hum she gave him.  Now was not the time to say things like that to Rose, the TARDIS was telling him, best to do it when they weren't about to run headlong into danger, it would distract both of them.

The Doctor sighed, mostly because he knew his ship was right, but his thoughts were turned again when Rose giggled at the TARDIS's sudden shock for the Doctor.  He picked up the suitcase and flashed her a smile.  "Well, I guess I'll be dressing the part for a few days after tonight, hm?"  He walked around to her side of the console and stuck his arm for her.  She gave him a brilliant smile and linked her arm through his.

They exited the TARDIS into the middle of the town of 1869 Wales, and Rose nudged the Doctor, delighted.  "You got the date right," she teased.

He arched an eyebrow down at her.  "Laugh all you want, but the point still stands that I did, in fact, get it right.  You should be thanking me."  He paused for a moment.  "Profusely.  You should be thanking me _profusely_."

They were lost in themselves until an old woman passed them and muttered "scandalous."

Rose's attention snapped to the woman who was bustling away from them.  "Oi," she said softly, "What was that for?"

The Doctor exaggerated turning around and looked at the TARDIS behind them.  "I can't imagine, Rose.  It's almost as if a dashing young man and a beautiful woman _didn't_ just come out of a small wooden box."

Rose meant to suppress her laugh, but couldn't quite manage it.  "Alright, you've made your point," she said consolingly.  She smiled up at him.

"What?"

She shook her head.  "Nothing."  It wasn't nothing in her own mind, though, because all she could think about was the fact that that was the second time the Doctor had complimented her appearance in this short of a time.  So instead of dwelling on it and reading into it where it didn't belong, she cleared her throat and changed the subject.  "So, how are we going to get the Glassers to let us into their home?  Especially with... I don't know, what you just said, about the, well, the box thing."

They started walking, the Doctor fishing in his pocket with his free hand.  "You know, you've got a point there, hang on.  But to answer your question, we'll get let in by telling them we're getting demonic readings in the area.  You mentioned they were religious, they'll want to keep the devil at bay.  And hopefully the devil is not the devil at all, but something we can control and get rid of before July 14th."  He pulled whatever he had been searching for out of his pocket, clutching it in his fist.  "As for our situation..."

He held out his hand as though he made to drop something, and Rose steadied her palm under his hand.  The Doctor shifted his fingers and dropped a small gold band into her palm.  "That's that," he said cheerfully, moving his arm around hers to slip a thicker ring onto his left ring finger.

Rose held the little piece in her palm, staring down at it as if she expected it to pop up and bite her  on the nose.  They were going to play married couple.  How on Earth was she supposed to pretend to be indifferent towards the Doctor with this on her hand?  And in turn, they'd be sharing a room, as a married couple, a professional couple mucking about in the supernatural.  It was almost too much for her, but she swallowed harshly and slipped the ring onto her finger.  Better to pretend that she was find with the whole thing, and not at all thinking about... Things she shouldn't be thinking about.

Oh, God.  What kinds of nightclothes had the TARDIS packed?  If it was anything silky, she was done for.

"Rose?" The Doctor asked worriedly, and Rose realized he had been talking.

"Yeah, sorry," she rushed out.  "How do you know where they live?"

The Doctor furrowed his brows.  "I just explained that, Rose.  I researched them for a bit after you went to change, found their address in some of the records in the TARDIS.  All up in here," he tapped his head.  "By the way, I'm thinking about going by James Smith this time, spice things up a bit," he waggled his eyebrows at her.

She shook herself from her distracted state, deciding she really didn't want him to keep asking her if she was alright.  "Doctor James Smith," she said slowly, letting the name roll off of her tongue.  She nodded in satisfaction.  "I like that."

"And you'll be Mrs. Rose Smith, but you're not quite ready to get your Doctor's degree, even though you want to.  So, I'm teaching you all kinds of things, and that's why you're working with me," he explained.  "That makes sense, right?  No... Holes I should be worried about?"

Rose bit her lip, trying not to fixate on the 'Mrs. Rose Smith' part of the conversation.  She nodded.  "Right," she agreed, "I think that'll be fine, no one should question it," she paused, thinking for another moment.  "I'd believe it, if I were from around here."

The Doctor smiled at her.  "I'll bet you would, Rose Tyler.  Or should I say, Rose Smith."  He winked and she suppressed a shudder, forcing a grin instead.

She took a moment to take in her surroundings.  The horse drawn carriages brought her a special form of delight, some part of her that was still very, very young at heart growing giddy at the thought of riding in one.  The Doctor noticed her expression and nudged her shoulder with his.  "Maybe some evening we'll take one out."

Rose looked up at him, the surprise clear on her face.  "Really?"  she asked softly.

"Really," he replied.  "Is your arm getting tired?  I could carry your suitcase."

She looked down at her arm and lifted her suitcase a bit before hanging it back down.  "No, I think that's alright."

The Doctor nodded.  "Well, we're almost there anyway."  He nodded his chin in front of them and Rose looked up.  She gasped when she saw a giant manor looming in front of them at the end of the dirt path they were walking up.  "Wow," she breathed quietly, in awe of the massive home.

"Well, I say let's get to overstaying our welcome," the Doctor said cheerfully.  They walked up the rest of the path to the door, the Doctor put his suitcase down, threw Rose a completely manic grin, and knocked. 


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor threw Rose a smile right before a man opened the door.  Rose knew from the pictures that she had seen that this was not Ben Glasser, and whoever this man was seemed very, very surprised to see anyone today.

"Hello!"  The Doctor said cheerfully, a grin nearly splitting his face.  "I'm Doctor James Smith and this is my wife, Rose.  We've heard there are..."  he looked around and leaned forwards as if sharing a big secret.  "Paranormal happenings, in this house."

The man lifted his eyebrows.  "Can you help Mr. and Mrs. Glasser?" he asked in the same low tone, his voice urgent. 

The Doctor nodded solemnly.  "Yes, we want to help.  My wife and I are both well versed in the paranormal and when we heard about this house, well, it grabbed our attention with both hands so to speak."  He studied the man's face.  "Can we ask that the Glassers take us on as paranormal consultants?"

The man opened and then closed his mouth again before nodding.  "How much are you asking for your services?"  He asked politely.

"Nothing," The Doctor said simply.  "We love what we do, and we just want to help.  Is that alright?"

"That's just fine," the man said, sounding sort of flustered at the Doctor's request for absolutely no pay.  "Please, step into the parlor."

He gestured for them to enter and led them into a very grand entryway.  Rose did her best not to gape at the deep, rich colors and massive chandelier that hung above a large, Titanic-esque staircase.  The Doctor squeezed her arm with his, sharing her sentiments in the beauty of the house.

The man held his arm out for them to walk into the large doorway to the right of the entryway.  Rose's jaw almost dropped again when she entered it.  The walls were sky blue, a fireplace at the end of it and an odd white rug in the center of the room, with a table standing over it.  The couches were nothing short of Victorian and Rose was beyond elated that she'd be able to sit on it.

She looked over at the Doctor and the man (or servant?) who had led them in.  They were both looking at her expectantly, and Rose realized, with their old values, that they were waiting for her to take a seat.  She pulled her arm from the Doctor's and sat down on an end of the couch, leaving space for the Doctor. 

The man bowed his head.  "I'll bring the Glassers to you and you can speak.  Please, make yourselves comfortable."  He bowed shortly to the Doctor and went out. 

The Doctor set his suitcase next to where Rose had put hers and sat next to her, grabbing her hand again.  "We're in," he said in a mock whisper, and Rose couldn't help but giggle as he grinned at her.  She looked around the room again and squeezed his hand in excitement.

"It's so gorgeous," She said, "Everything, it's so classic, so-"

"Timeless," The Doctor finished, understanding.  Rose nodded in response. 

"It almost feels like I shouldn't be here, like I'm disrupting something beautiful by standing in the midst of all of it."

She looked over at the Doctor and saw that his eyes had softened.  "You're not disrupting anything," he said, his voice low and promising.

Rose's heart skipped a beat and she was about to ask him what he meant by that, but the servant entered again with a young man and woman, both with dark hair.  Marie Glasser had dark eyes to match her hair, but Ben had blue eyes that _had_ to show every emotion that this man had. 

The Doctor and Rose stood.  The men shook hands and the women curtsied.  The Doctor and Mr. Glasser waited for Rose and Mrs. Glasser to sit down before joining them next to the couches, the 'Smiths' across from the Glassers.

"Matthew tells us you have some insight when it comes to the supernatural," Ben Glasser said, his tone warm and inviting. 

"My wife and I do have a lot of experience when it comes to dealing with those... Foreign to people, yes," the Doctor agreed, "And we'd very much like to help you."

The Doctor calling Rose his wife with such ease, as though it were something natural for them and easy to transition to, made shivers run down her spine.  It really shouldn't have made her so excited, knowing that they were faking it and all, but she couldn't help it, didn't miss the run of his thumb over hers, even if it was unintentional.

"The Smiths, yes?  James and Rose?"  Ben furrowed his brows, as if worried he'd got it wrong. 

Rose and the Doctor both nodded.  Ben's face relaxed, grateful his servant had given him reliable information.  "We really hate to admit we need help, Doctor, but as people of the faith, we know that demons and angels exist."

The Doctor nodded again.  "I agree with you," he said seriously.  "That's why I want to help.  I hope it wasn't presumptuous of us, but we've brought our bags."

Ben and Marie's gazes both fixed on the Doctor's and Rose's bags, which sat at their feet.  Rose wiggled her toes in her shoes, a little uncertain about what the Glassers might think of them bringing full bags into their homes.

"I think it's grand," Marie beamed, and Rose's gaze snapped up to the woman, not having heard her speak yet.  "We can show you to a guest room, and we've even got indoor latrines.  I hope it's sure to meet your needs."

"Yes, yes, we'll show them their rooms when we're done here," Ben said, fondly patting his wife's hand.  "But first, we need to tell you... What's been happening."

The Doctor leaned forwards, his elbows on his knees. "Well, go on, then." 

Ben heaved a sigh and exchanged a look with his wife.  "My family has owned this house for generations, but it only started happening recently.  It was things like doors slamming when Marie and I were on the opposite end of the house.  Smells that didn't make sense, we thought perhaps it was something like the house settling, an errant breeze..."

"But it wasn't," Rose said quietly.

"No.  It persisted, and our cook started saying she could hear these voices, and see premonitions of our lives.  And that's how it continues," Ben finished.

"That sounds like the Gelth," Rose said to the Doctor. 

"What are the Gelth?" Ben asked curiously.

"A restless spirit we took care of before we were married," The Doctor replied breezily, and his causal mention of 'before they were married', made Rose's heart give an odd leap.  "Gone now, just like the ones in this house will be.  No telling if this spirit is a Gelth or not, though, unless you've noticed the re-animation of dead bodies recently."  He grinned at the Glassers so they would think he was kidding.  They smiled nervously in response.

"Well, Doctor James Smith, Mrs. Smith, I'd say we could really use your help," Ben said firmly.  "We'd greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter.  Do you accept?"

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other and shared a huge grin.  They turned back to the Glassers.  "Yes."


	5. Chapter 5

"Thank you," Marie Glasser breathed out what seemed to be a sigh of relief.  "Matthew will show you to your room, and we do hope you'll join us for supper," She said, "And we can discuss how to... Further treat whatever is in this house."

"I think that's a brilliant idea," the Doctor smiled reassuringly at her. 

Marie nodded and stood, and everyone else stood at the same moment she did.  Matthew took both Rose's and the Doctor's suitcases and nodded towards the door.  The Doctor stuck out his arm and Rose looped hers through as they exited the room. 

Matthew led them up the giant staircase, and Rose felt so regal she could barely keep from slapping the Doctor's arm and squealing.  Somehow, she managed it, only gripping his bicep and grinning, earning her a giddy smile from him. 

The hallways were even beautiful, every pattern on the carpet completely gorgeous, and the lamps that were lit on the wall were even spectacular.  Rose was very tempted to touch the velvet curtains, but remembered her role several times on the way to the room where they would be staying.  The room which was certain to be beautiful and she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand it.

Matthew set down a suitcase and opened a large, cherrywood door before bringing the suitcases into the room.  Rose and the Doctor followed behind him, and both of them were in awe of what they saw once they crossed the threshold.

The room in itself was rather Victorian Gothic, clearly each guest room would've looked like this, based on the rich colors of the whole house.  The walls were a light maroon, the wooden floors deep colored and only mildly scratched, telling Rose at some point the Glassers must of had guests before.  With as rich as they were, Rose assumed they would've had visitors a lot.

And as Rose had assumed there would be, one bed.  It was a queen sized one with a huge decorative headboard and had white covers and pillowcases with red trimmings.  Overall, it was completely beautiful, but Rose was having a little trouble keeping her thoughts innocent in such a pristine and perfect honeymoon setting.

"Thank you, Matthew," the Doctor replied, interrupting her thoughts.  "Tell us, what's the date?  And when supper is, if you please."

"The date is July the First," Matthew replied, looking confused as to why that information needed to be given.  "I will retrieve you for supper in twenty minutes.  Please make yourselves comfortable."  He gave them a curt bow and left them there, shutting the door behind him. 

"So, we've got thirteen days to figure out what's going on around here," the Doctor said as he pulled their suitcases over to the giant wardrobe.  "And keep everybody safe."

"We'll be fine," she said, sounding very sure.  She moved to help him with the suitcases but he batted her away.  Huffing in response she walked over to the bed and flopped down onto her back,adjusting to keep her skirt from getting wrinkled underneath her before laying her hands on her stomach, her fingers laced.

The Doctor made short work of hanging up and folding all of their clothes, and Rose pretended not to listen to all of the little movements she could hear him making from across the room.  She shut her eyes and wondered if she'd be able to catch a nap before Matthew came to get them for dinner. 

"You think we'll be able to fix things up here, right?" Rose asked from her spot on the (frankly magnificent) bed. 

"I don't see why not," the Doctor said casually.  "We fix everything else, don't we?"

Rose hummed in the back of her throat and smiled a bit to herself.  "You know, usually.  After trial and error."

"Oi!" The Doctor replied indignantly from the wardrobe.

She snorted out a laugh.  "Sorry, sorry, but tell me I'm wrong and I won't say stuff like that."

The Doctor laughed with her.  "Yes, but that's half the fun, isn't it?  A random grab of the hand and off we go, running for our lives.  It's exhilarating, don't you think?"  His voice sounding pleading, like he desperately wanted her to agree with him, to love all the running as much as he did, which she really did.  Maybe she didn't tell him that enough.

She heaved a sigh and burrowed back farther into the pillows.  "Yeah, I do think it is.  Much more interesting than working at the shop, or doing anything back on Earth, honestly.  And look where we are now?  The one place in history that's always fascinated me.  I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for that."

"You don't have to thank me," the Doctor replied.  "I love showing you the universe, experiencing it as something new!"  His voice sounded so excited and it made her smile happily at the picture of the smile that she knew was on his face.

She let out a little laugh at the thought of his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline in excitement.  It took her about a minute to realize there was a presence above her, and she opened her eyes, honestly expecting for there to be a spirit over her head, just based on what the Glassers had been saying.  What she wasn't expecting was to stare straight into the Doctor's eyes as he sat next to her hip on the bed, his arm over her waist and hand planted on the bed.

"Hello," she said shakily, not knowing exactly what he was doing or why he hadn't spoken, but finding it hard to concentrate on her questions while her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. 

"Hello," he replied, his voice once again low.  "Do you remember how you said you felt like you were disrupting something beautiful here?"

She nodded slowly, wondering where this could possibly be heading.  "Yeah," she said quietly, "I remember."

"And I said you weren't disrupting anything?" The Doctor pressed. 

Rose nodded again, her fingers growing fidgety on her stomach.  She laughed nervously.  "It wasn't that long ago, Doctor."

He gave her a soft smile and stroked her cheek with his free hand.  "You're not disrupting it because you fit into it so wonderfully."

Rose's breath hitched, not sure what was going on or why she liked it so much, but she knew that whatever it was she had to reciprocate it, because she _wanted_ it.  She lifted one of her hands off of her stomach and stroked his cheek, mirroring his movements, wanting the excuse to touch him. 

She should've felt vulnerable, laying there with one of his arms over her body but not touching it, trapping her to the bed, and the other caressing her face, but somehow she was very comfortable.  His eyes bored into hers and she watched as his pupils dilated, almost making her forget how to breathe. 

"That's really kind of you," she whispered.

He smiled at her.  "Rose," her name fell from his lips on a breath and he leaned forward as she strained up to meet him.

A harsh knock at the door separated them, snapping the moment in two.  "Mr. and Mrs. Smith, if you will, I shall lead you to the dining hall."

The Doctor's eyes were back to normal and he was suddenly standing three feet from the bed, ruffling his hair with his other hand jammed in his pocket.  "Well, let's get something to eat, hm?  I'm starving."

Rose forced a smile and sat up, mourning the loss of his touch on her cheek and the breath that had been so close to her lips.  "Yeah, let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

"I'll bet you're excited," the Doctor grinned at her from five feet away, looking as though he were trying not to near her.  Rose watched him for a moment and forced a smile. 

"Doctor-"

"You know, authentic mood, all that atmosphere.  _Dripping_ in atmosphere, Rose.  You'll love it," he held his arm out for her and she took it without a second thought, like she would ever have to give something like that a second thought.

"Doctor, I-"

"Not the time for chit-chat, Rose, we don't want to be late," He said, sounding far too cheerful for the heavy mood that had covered them just moments before.  He tugged her along and opened the door where Matthew stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the perfect picture of 'prim and proper.' 

"Hello, Matthew, my good man," The Doctor grinned, his happy-go-lucky mood firmly back in place, and Rose sighed to herself.

She had to admit she was a fool to think that anything would come out of an odd moment with him over her on the bed.  She nearly laughed at the thought.  Right.  How presumptuous that had been of her.  Maybe he would've done something, had Matthew not knocked on the door, but she still had to doubt it, just because he was... Well, he was the Doctor.

So she just huffed and held onto his arm, relishing in the contact and trying not to wish for anything more.  Because, oh God, did she wish or more, every moment of every day.  He meant so much to her, and he never really saw it, which nearly killed her.  She'd tried to be obvious about it, even before his regeneration, just in case he decided to forgo those completely daft Time Lord rules.

Matthew started to lead them back where they had come, and again, Rose admired the ornate beauty around her, trying not to look at the Doctor, even glance at him.  She could feel his gaze drift over to her every so often, though she was sure he was looking for a way to apologize for what had happened without actually bringing it up.

The two of them were led down the magnificent staircase and to an equally glorious dining room, which rich wood chairs and table with a small floral centerpiece in the middle of it.  The chairs were certain to be hard when she sat on one, Rose was sure, but she hoped her skirt would keep her bum from falling asleep.

Marie and Ben stood in the dining room and they exchanged pleasantries before taking their seats.  Rose looked around to thank Matthew and saw that he'd disappeared.

It looked as though the table had been adjusted so it would just seat the four of them, with a little extra space for the plates to be placed.  In the back of her mind, Rose wondered what they would be eating, but she'd eaten so many weird things over the course of the years she'd been with the Doctor that she wasn't sure she cared.

One thing she wondered about more than the food was why the Doctor's hand immediately found her knee under the table the moment they'd sat down.  It made her mind whirl and if her left hand covered his, who was to know?

Nothing, really.  In the end, she knew it was nothing.  She knew that he'd be all flirt and no follow through, touching her and almost... Loving her.  But the second they got back to their room he'd pretend he'd never touched her, like he hadn't made her heart stutter in her chest.  Like he _hadn't_ made her want to kiss him on a thousand occasions.  Like every touch didn't drive her completely mad for more.

Instead of just telling him this, instead of owning up to everything, she pushed it all aside and kept her thumb tracing circles over the back of his hand, just hanging onto the little parts of contact she was getting from him.

They ended up being presented with roast turkey and plum pudding, and Ben and Marie apologized profusely since they weren't expecting company, but Rose and the Doctor had to assure them that it was fine. 

"We wanted to eat sort of light anyway," the Doctor said, "Travelling gives Rose an upset stomach."

Rose would've laughed, because if travelling made her sick that would end her travels with the Doctor very quickly.  Instead, she just nodded to the couple and tried to look forlorn for a moment.

Marie and Ben seemed to buy it, the other woman touching her hand in sympathy.  "I know how that is," she said, "One carriage ride and I fall ill almost immediately." 

The Doctor and Rose found that they rather liked this couple, and Rose felt like it was their job now to save them from whatever terrible fate had befell them in a... Previous past. 

When reading history books, it was hard to remember that those between the pages were real, and lived real lives, and had real laughs.  They were all beautiful in their own way, and wasn't that something?  She wanted to make sure that they died old, fat, and happy, not a couple young and in their prime. 

And they were so in love, anyone could see that.  It warmed Rose's heart, and she enjoyed watching them, the little touches exchanged, glances and smiles and everything else that encompassed a couple being in love.  As much as she was happy for them, she found herself being more than a little jealous.

It was all going very well, and Rose took the Doctor's sort-of advice when he commented about the atmosphere, pulling in as much of it as she could.  That was, until the candles started to flicker. 

"Doctor?" She whispered, touching his shoulder and pointing at them.  "There's no breeze here."

Ben and Marie slowly turned around to look where both the Doctor and Rose were now looking.  Marie did the sign of the cross over her chest and Rose heard Ben take a sharp intake of breath.  The four of them stared, motionless, at the flames, which looked like they were blowing in a wind none of them could feel.

The Doctor's fingers tightened around her knee and she turned to look at him, a little surprised.  Was the Doctor afraid?  Out of all the things they'd seen, this was the one?  The one thing, after Slitheen, and Cybermen, and the Time War, this was the thing that scared the Doctor. 

She went cold as she realized why this would upset them.  He'd never seen it.  He didn't know what this was, and if he didn't know, they were certainly up a creek without a paddle.  And their paddle was usually the Doctor himself. 

She was fixating on this, fretting about it, when simultaneously, all the candles and lights in the house went out, leaving the dining room plunged into blackness.


	7. Chapter 7

The room, now pitch black and feeling deadly silent, seemed to close in around it's four occupants.  Of course, there were no windows in the dining room, and they were shut off from the kitchen and the parlor, leaving them not being able to see their hands in front of their faces.

Even the Doctor, with his Time-Lordy superior senses, couldn't see much of anything and couldn't even make out shapes.  In the back of his mind this registered as wrong, that he should be able to make out forms.  Panicking just a bit, he felt his respiratory bypass system kick in, giving him a moment to think.

"Alright, roll call!" The Doctor announced in a voice more confident and less afraid than he was letting on.  "Mr. Glasser?"

"I'm here, Doctor Smith," Ben said shakily, seeming just as nervous as the Doctor was feeling.

"Mrs. Glasser?"

"I am present as well," Marie said nervously.

"Rose?"

Rose's body, however, had launched itself into a panic, and she was having trouble breathing, so listening to the Doctor was, for once, significantly low on her list.  She could feel her chest heaving but had almost no control over it, felt her hands grow cold and clammy but couldn't put a finger on why, and nearly cried out but it died a strangled choking sound in her throat.  A cold crept up the back of her neck and she felt her eyes roll back in her head.

"Rose?!" The Doctor asked again, alarmed at how he couldn't feel her presence beside him.  "Rose, are you there?"

She felt her blood pounding in her ears, unmistakable as her own heartbeat.  She could only hear herself, her breathing, and her heart.  She could only see the stars behind her eyes that made so sense and could only feel the way her fingertips were growing unreasonably cold.

"Rose!!" The Doctor was shouting now, and somehow through Rose's fogged mind she barely heard him, and the fear in his voice scared her almost as badly as anything had ever scared her before.

She screamed and stood up, sending her chair clattering to the ground.  Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered standing, and hands against her upper arms, holding her steady.  Her mind was so scattered she didn't know who it was, and why he was touching her, and it caused her to try to fight back against it.

The voice was calling to her, but she felt her consciousness start to be repressed and she felt the panic of being possessed again, like Cassandra had gotten into her head.  She cried out and collapsed against whoever was holding her.

And Rose Tyler was shut out.

The Doctor caught her as she fell, nothing but pure white fear rushing through him, trying to keep her upright.  "Rose?" He asked, his voice alarmed.  He hoisted her up against him.  "Ben, Marie, one of you get a door open so we can take her into the parlor, something's happening to her and I need to figure out what it is."

He heard scrambling around him as he lifted Rose into a bridal carry, grunting with the effort of hoisting up her heavy dress along with her.  He stood behind where heard the rustling of fabric, and sighed with relief when the door opened and light streamed into the room. 

There was no time wasted in getting Rose out of the dining room and into the parlor, laying her along one of the couches that she had admired so much just an hour or so previous.  He braced her head on a few pillows and set her hands on her stomach, trying not to panic or let his hands shake.

"I heard her scream," Marie said nervously, wringing her hands next to the Doctor.  "Do you know what happened?"

"I have an idea," the Doctor muttered, "But it's not guaranteed."

"Shall one of us fetch your bag, Doctor?" Ben asked, "If there is something in there that you can use to help Mrs. Smith."

"No, I've got what I need right here, but I'm telling you now, it's advanced technology, and you... Well, you can't make it the talk of the town, it stays between us, alright?" The Doctor's voice held unadulterated anxiety.

"Of course, Doctor Smith, anything," Marie said in a rushed voice.  "Do what you must to help her, she's so pale."

He could hear Marie fretting behind him in a motherly worried voice, but was so focused her barely took notice of it.  He knelt next to her and pulled the sonic out of his screwdriver before scanning her body with the tool in his right hand, stroking her hair with his left, hoping to calm her in whatever state she was in.

"What is that?" Ben asked curiously, not seeming afraid of the unfamiliar device.

"It's called a sonic screwdriver," the Doctor divulged absent mindedly, focusing on watching the blue light flicker over Rose's dress.

"Fascinating," Ben breathed.

The Doctor finished his scan and looked at his sonic, watching as the readings came through on it.  He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back on his feels, his hand over Rose's, clutching her fingers in his.  She was warm, and he needed her touch.  It was almost too much, seeing her so lifeless, but knowing she was still alive. 

Marie knelt next to the Doctor, a comforting hand on his shoulder.  "Is she going to be alright?" She asked quietly, as if afraid of spooking him.

The Doctor sighed, unsure of how to explain what little he was able to gather from the readings the sonic was giving him.  "Her mind was temporarily taken over," he scrubbed a hand down his cheek.  "I don't know by what or why, but there was something in there.  The second I touched her it got spooked and shot out of her..." He paused to think of the right wordage to use, "Rendering her unconscious.  She'll wake up tomorrow morning, it would seem, and she'll be able to tell us what she saw."

"Shall we move her upstairs?" Ben asked uncertainly.  "Back to your room?"

The Doctor nodded.  "Yes, that would probably be best."  He lifted her in his arms again, her head falling against his shoulder. 

The three of them walked up to the guest room together and Ben and Marie fretted with the both of them for a bit before the Doctor had Rose settled over the covers, deciding to strip her down to her nightshift when the couple had left to protect her privacy.

"Is there anything we can do?" Marie asked.

The Doctor pondered that for a moment.  "Would it be at all possible for someone to bring her some water?" He asked, "When she wakes up she's going to need it."

"Matthew will bring it in a few minutes," Marie replied and walked from the room at a brisk pace, as though she were trying very desperately not to run. 

"I feel just dreadful that this happened to her on your first night here," Ben said, the guilt nearly dripping from his words.  "I never expected anything like this to happen so soon, or so... Dramatically.  It has never been anything like this."

"It's hardly your fault, Ben," the Doctor replied.  "I think I'll just take care of her for the rest of the night."

"That's understandable," Ben nodded, "I would not blame you if you wanted to leave tomorrow," he said quietly.

"We promised to help you find out what was going on here, and trust me, this will not deter Rose, she's too strong for that."  The Doctor said confidently.

Matthew entered the room with Marie on his heels then, holding what looked like a glass chalice filled with water.  He set it on the small bedside table and took his leave from the room, sensing that he was not needed in the room.

"What would you like us to do?" Marie asked the Doctor, breaking the short silence.

"There's nothing that can be done." The Doctor replied, offering the couple a small smile.  "I'll stay with her until the morning."

"As you wish," Ben nodded, and the three bid each other goodnight before the other couple left the Doctor alone with an unconscious Rose.

The Doctor had a bit of trouble getting off her outer dress so she was left in her night shift and stockings, but he didn't want her to wake up uncomfortable.  After slipping off her shoes, he maneuvered her so that she was under the covers, on her back with her face turned to the side.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.  He took off his trainers, socks, suit jacket, and tie, and against all better judgment, and everything in his mind telling him 'no' and 'stop', he crawled under the covers with her and pulled her close, focusing on her steady breaths and protecting her with an arm over her waist. 


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor was trying to take the clinical approach on all of this, on Rose lying next to him in what was an admittedly large bed in which he had almost kissed her just about an hour and a half previous.  He felt rather stupid for all of that, admittedly, but there was nothing to be done about it.

He catalogued her breathing rate to make sure he was normal and tried to focus on her brain activity to make sure whatever had gone into her was actually gone.  From what he could gather, it had left her mind alone, only infiltrated her for a moment, but he couldn't quite put a finger on why.

Maybe it had just wanted to show Rose something, sent something through her mind and dodged right out of there.  Or, it had just wanted to get attention.  And it had found said attention in his young companion. 

He stroked his fingers over her forehead and closed his eyes, hoping to draw out her consciousness without waking her up.  He knew she needed the rest, and tried to dip into her mind without rousing her.  He felt her consciousness but all he could recognize behind it was how tired it was.  Like whatever had been in it had worn her out entirely, body and mind. 

In the back of his own mind, he wondered if she'd wake up the same as she had been before.  The parts of her that had been repressed by Cassandra were doubly repressed by whatever it was that had just been in her head.  He was nearly desperate to figure out what it was, what had caused her to cry out like that.

He nearly shuddered at the memory of her shout, a cry of anguish, and unconsciously pulled her side closer against him, his chin resting against the top of her shoulder.  The way he was curled around her, a stranger could walk in and see that he feared for her, wanted to keep her alive at, quite literally, any cost.

She stirred next to him, a development he wasn't expecting to see until the morning, and he watched her curiously in the fading light of day, her eyebrows drawing together.

"Rose?" he chanced on a whisper.

Her eyes shot open, not the gentle blinking open that was usual for a human.  She sat up abruptly, making his teeth click painfully together.  She ripped his arm off from around her and stared at him, unblinking.

"Rose?" He asked again, sitting up with her. 

She stood, never taking her eyes from him.  "You have undressed the human," she said simply.  It was her voice, but not her words.  "She is nearly naked."

The Doctor realized immediately that he wasn't speaking with Rose, but whatever had inhabited her before.  He tempered down that anger that threatened to surge through him and moved to stand in front of her, his hands reaching for her.

"No skin contact with the human," the entity in Rose responded to his movements, and stepped backwards. 

"She does not belong to you," the Doctor said firmly.  "Let her go."

"I have been unable to enter any other human mind," the entity said thoughtfully.  "The young couple who lives here will die if I inhabit them, and the servant is too dense for my purposes."

"Why Rose, then?" He asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking as his anger mounted.  It was too close to home, to see this woman he had come to lo- to care for, so much, to be within her body but trapped and screaming inside her own mind.  He had seen it before, he had felt it as well, as she had with Cassandra, and wanted nothing more than to save her.  But he knew he had to be careful, that if he said or did the wrong thing, this entity could kill Rose without making her blink an eye.

"Because, she is a happy medium between human," the entity gestured down Rose's body and pointed at the Doctor, "And Time Lord."

"You're not... You can't inhabit a Time Lord."

The entity shook Rose's head.  "They are too strong.  The humans are too weak.  And even this being I will only be able to stay in for a short period of time."

"Rose is a human," The Doctor said slowly, wondering if the entity was dense for not knowing so, especially while it was running her mind and body for her.

"The Valiant Child is not human," the entity said indignantly, "She is a new species, something never seen before.  A new breed, and as such, being the only one, a dying breed."

"Tell me what she is," The Doctor demanded, stepping forward, his hearts thumping violently against his chest. 

"I do not know," the entity responded.  "She is odd."

The Doctor sighed, knowing he had time to figure this out later, but right now. he had to get this.. This _thing_ out of Rose.  "What are you doing inside her mind?"

"I am here to state my purpose, and I cannot stay in the child long," the entity spoke.  "I am trapped.  I cannot simply pass from human to human.  I will eventually die."

"Then what do you want me to do about it?" The Doctor asked, his voice rising with every word he spoke.

"Set me free.  When I leave the child, it will be so dark," Rose's lower lip trembled with the entity's words.  "I am afraid." 

Against his will, the Doctor felt sorry for this being.  That was possibly because it was wearing Rose's face, and therefore made him more susceptible emotionally to whatever was said from those specific lips. 

"Where are you trapped?" The Doctor asked softly.  "How can I help you?"

"I don't know where I am trapped," the entity began crying, tears spilling down Rose's cheeks.  "I do not know what to do."

"I'll do everything I can to help you," the Doctor promised.  "But you have to let go of that body, I need her, do you understand?  I need her with me, and she can help me.  She can help me save you, she knows you, now that you've been in her head.  But you've got to let her go."

The entity nodded, seeming to understand.  "You must touch the body."  It reached out Rose's hand for him and without thinking he wrapped his fingers around hers. 

Rose gasped and the Doctor watched as a green mist floated out of her mouth.  Her eyes rolled back in her head and the Doctor stepped forward to wrap his arms around her waist, keeping her knees from buckling under her.  Her hands immediately flew to his shoulders as her eyes opened.  The grin he expected did not rest upon her haunted face.

"It's so lonely, Doctor," she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes.  "It's so lonely."  She burst into tears, clutching his jacket.  He pulled her closer to him, stroking his hands up her back in what he hoped was a soothing motion.  He scooped her up into a bridal carry and settled her into the bed, trying to ignore how she clutched at him, trying to keep him close. 

"It's alright, Rose," he assure her, stroking her hair back before standing straight again.

"Doctor, I feel so cold," she said quietly, reaching up to take his hand in hers. "Will you please stay with me?"

It wasn't that he didn't want to, because he _did_ , too much, if he was honest.  But with her being so vulnerable and looking so damn gorgeous despite just having been possessed and crying, he couldn't trust himself in bed with her. 

"Not tonight, Rose," he said quietly, releasing his grip on her hand.

He tried to ignore her hurt look as she let go of his hand and turned on her side away from him.  He took a look at the small couch on the other side of the room.  Taking an extra blanket from the bed, he decided it would have to do.

Rose tried to suppress the movement of her ribs as the tears continued to fall, feeling cold seep through her with no one to warm her.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose lay alone in the bed for what felt like hours, feeling chills and aching loneliness that was brought on by the entity that had inhabited her mind.  She tried to suppress the chills that were curling through her in case the Doctor was watching her, trying to look brave, but in her simple white shirt, it was hard to keep down the cold.

It felt as though it was burning through her, even after the entity had left her.  Even though she'd been repressed inside her own mine (again), she remembered as though it was her.  The being felt so empty, so alone, and Rose very much wanted to help it.

"It's so alone," she whispered to herself, burying down into the covers, trying to keep warm and failing.

She heard rustling behind her and knew it was probably the Doctor on the small couch on the other side of the room, probably trying to shift to get away from hearing her fret over something he probably just wanted to vanquish.

She wondered if anything she thought he was going to do earlier had just been a piece of her imagination wishing for it more than anything else.  Why would he want to kiss her anyways?  Or get closer to her in that way at all, for that matter. 

She was a stupid ape, and God, she knew it.  He'd only said it once, to be sure, but it stuck with her.  She curled up into a tight ball into the bed and tried to fight off seemingly unbidden tears.  Just because a being in her head had made her feel sorry for it and she was rejected by the man she... Cared for, was no reason to cry.

But somehow she knew her sympathy on top of her own emotions was too much, and here she was, wanting to cry and wanting the Doctor to hold her, and not really getting either.  Part of her wanted to huff in frustration but just couldn't find the anger for it, only disappointment.

The first tear slipped out over her lashes and she swatted at it with her fingers, trying not to draw any attention to it and failing.  She couldn't see the Doctor look up from his spot on the couch and watch her, a war written across his face.  Eventually, upon hearing her sniffle, he lay his head back down on the couch, deciding that Rose was a big girl and handle it herself.

But the point was, she shouldn't have to, because he was there, and he was supposed to protect her from things like this.  She should never be in such a horrible position, and she'd been possessed twice on his watch.  Part of him felt guilty for that, and the other part felt guilty because he wanted nothing more than to stalk over to her and kiss away every single tear that fell down her lovely cheeks.

He managed to stay on his makeshift bed, staring at her back and pursing his lips, wishing he could ignore her.  Unfortunately for him, her presence in his room was something of a flare, lighting up the whole place, the dark walls and rug. 

Flopping on his back, he closed his eyes and tried to tune out the sounds of her.  Within moments it became clear that this would be impossible.  Giving in, he sat up.

She still lay with her back facing him, her palms pressed to her cheeks and fingertips up over her eyes.  Her wet lashes brushed the pads of her fingers on every blink, only reminding her that the entity could never feel the touch of another person, though the Doctor would never understand that.

When the Doctor had touched her, the being had shot out of her.  It wasn't allowed to be touched, and if it wasn't touched of didn't climb out from the person, it would kill the human and have to move on to somebody else, with the same result.  And as such, they wouldn't be able to feel the touch of any person, ever.  It would live its whole life, as long as that was, without someone to stand next to them with a comforting touch, and that was quite possibly one of the saddest thing Rose had discovered. 

She had experienced it, felt it through the entity's eyes, so to speak.  Because of that, and because of the lack of touch afterwards, she felt more alone than she'd ever been in her life, craving physical contact more than anything else.  She wished it had never picked her, because now she had to live with its burdens until they helped it, and she wasn't sure the Doctor really wanted to.

After a bit, she thought she must be done crying, and by normal human terms, she should have calmed down, but the intense emotions that had been spiraling through her made her much more emotional. 

She felt a hand touch her back against the shift she was wearing and stiffened, the only sensation the cool touch of the hand and the tears against her cheeks.  She turned over her shoulder to peer up into the Doctor's concerned face.  "You know, you said not tonight," she said curtly, no matter how much she wanted to roll over and cry into his chest.

One of his knees was on the bed, leaning him over her.  She noticed he was only in his white undershirt and boxers, obviously planning on sleeping that night.  But, she reminded herself, not in the same bed as her. 

He had the nerve to look hurt at her words.  His hand had slid with her back as she had rolled slightly, chest angled up and hips away from him.  He knew he had no right to touch her, because he had wounded her after a traumatic experience.  Somehow he knew even if he stayed with her tonight that they would not be okay in the morning.  It would now take a lot to get her to trust him again, even if she cuddled with him until morning. 

"You've been crying this whole time," he responded, his voice full of worry, silently disregarding her previous statement.

"Well, it wasn't in your head, was it?" She responded curtly, rolling away from him again.  "It was worse than Cassandra, it's so lonely, Doctor.  It's never touched another being because it can't, and I don't know how to help it."  She pressed her hands to her face again, feeling the tears well up again.

"Rose, we'll figure it out in the morning," he promised, his hand rubbing soothing circles over her back, the touch comforting after feeling so bereft of it before.  "For now, you need to stop thinking about it."

She turned and shoved him away from her with alarming strength for someone who had just been through a traumatic event, but anger helped her along.  He stumbled back from the bed, taken off guard, as she turned away from him yet again and pulled the covers up to her neck.  "I can't not think about it," she snapped, her voice thick with emotion, "It was there, I saw what it was feeling.  It may be easy for you, Doctor, but it's not for me.  I can't just... Turn off my feelings.  If you need to get sleep, I suggest you do it now."

The Doctor didn't think about his next movements.  He just did them.  He ripped the covers back from her and climbed into the bed with her before reaching over and pulling her towards him.  He tugged the covers back up around them and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her head to his chest.

She fought him, as he suspected she might, but held tight to her.  There was nothing he wanted more than to press kisses to the crown of her head, her forehead, her cheeks, her lips, and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he couldn't.  There would never be a right time for that, he knew that now, and he had to give up on anything he was thinking of her.

Eventually she relaxed into his grips, but only because she was too tired from the crying that she had been doing and was still doing, her tears seeping through his undershirt.  He couldn't bring himself to care.

He felt cold, thinking about how much she had needed someone to touch her and he had let her suffer for... He calculated in his head, two hours.  Two hours she had struggled through this.  He'd been horrible because he was afraid of getting too close. 

He heaved her even closer to him, shushing her gently as her sobs started to ebb away.  She burrowed closer to him, craving any touch that could prove that she could still be touched.

"Just sleep, Rose, if we're going to help it, we'll need sleep."

He wanted to say "I love you."

He didn't.

Rose fell asleep feeling warm, but not happy, knowing that the Doctor didn't want her, and was just doing this out of pity.

The Doctor didn't sleep because he was watching over her as she rested.


	10. Chapter 10

Rose woke up about half three, cuddled into the Doctor's arms.  It would seem as though he'd fallen into a light sleep, and probably wouldn't stay that way for long, knowing him.  She bit her lip as she looked at him, watching his face, calm and still, so unlike his usual eccentric expressions. 

She could've almost lived with it, him obviously not wanting to stay with her, because he'd told her.  "Not tonight, Rose".  And that had been simple enough.  Then, with the right amount of pity, he'd crawled under the covers with her.  But it wasn't something that he would've done willingly, obviously.

That being said, she _could've_ lived with it, had he not shifted to pull her closer subconsciously, his face buried in her hair.  He sighed deeply against her and she repressed a shiver, remembering that he was asleep. 

She slowly extracted herself from his grasp, incredibly careful not to wake him and ignoring his grunt of protest.  She wrapped her arms around herself at the sudden chill she got as she stood up, bereft of his warm touch.  Biting her lip, she forced down even more tears and walked to the couch that the Doctor had been planning on sleeping on.

It would be a better fit for her anyway, with as short as it was, and he obviously needed to sleep, given the fact that he actually _was_.  She had completely convinced herself of it by the time she got to the couch and looked over at him, now sprawled out over the side of the bed she had been on, as if seeking out the warmth that had just left him, as her body was crying out for her to do.

She denied it, wishing flannel pajamas had been invented in that year, and settled onto the couch, pulling the blanket up to her chin and turning her back to the Doctor and the bed, facing the cushion of the couch.  She had to sleep with her legs slightly bent, but she supposed it was better than the Doctor to wake up in a position he didn't want to be in.  She thought he'd probably thank her in the morning.

He didn't.

He woke up alone, which he hadn't been expecting, so when he reached for Rose and found only cold sheets, he shot up into a sitting position, fearing the entity had possessed her again and had taken her somewhere. 

Upon gazing around the room, he soon found that wasn't the case, and his hearts sank to his stomach at the sight of her curled up alone on the couch.  Alone.  And, with the way the blankets were tucked around her, she had clearly put herself there, and had done so intentionally. 

"Rose?" He called softly across the room, clearing his throat when his emotion showed a little too clearly in his voice. 

She stirred but didn't wake, instead, curling into a tighter little ball on the cushions.  Is that what he did to her?  Made her want to hide?  Well, if it did, he reminded himself, it was all his fault.  He'd wanted to be with her last night, to hold her until the sunrise, but his cowardly ways had gotten the best of him, and now he had hurt her.

It wasn't as though he could simply tell her that, either.  He'd have to tell her everything he thought of her, how he felt, what he wanted, and he couldn't do any of those things.  It was safer, by far, for Rose to think he had never wanted her to begin with. 

Which, of course, was a lie.  He wanted to be everything he could to her, but here he was, a coward, every time.  She needed to think of him as nothing, and then maybe he could keep detached from her.  Even as he thought the words, he knew it was impossible.  She was etched on this incarnation of him, born from her love... Or so he had liked to think.  He wasn't sure anymore. 

"Rose?" He called again.  This time she stirred, rolling over halfway, her hips still towards the couch and her shoulders diagonal with them.  She rubbed her eye with her outside arm and watched him for a moment.  "Hm?"

"What are you-" he cleared his throat and tried again.  "What are you doing over there?"

"Oh," Rose glanced down at herself as though she'd forgotten.  "S'not important."

He furrowed his brows at her and stood, walking to stand over her.  "Yes it is.  Why are you over here?"

She worried her bottom lip and shrugged.  "Not important.  Can you help me into one of those corsets?"

As she stood, he reached to grab her arm, almost futile, since her back was still to him.  "Rose, are we okay?"

She turned to face him and he let go of her arm, letting her stand before him.  She searched his eyes for a few moments and it hurt him to see the red rimming hers, reminding him of all the tears she had shed the night before. 

"Yes," she said tightly, as though she was trying to convince herself as well as him.  His only response was to pull her into his arms, wrapping around her shoulders and back instead of both around her waist so he could hold more of her. 

She went willingly, wrapping her arms around his waist, her cheek against his chest.  He squeezed her against him, not wanting to let her go, trying to tell her all the things he couldn't say without speaking.  Somewhere deep down, he knew it would never work.

Rose gave him a final squeeze and pulled back.  "I'm just feeling kind of weak, is all," she shrugged.  "Help me get dressed?" She requested quietly.

The Doctor nodded, and it was a long process.  She pulled a gold silk dress out of her bigger-on-the-inside suitcase, with a corset and all the necessary stockings and petticoats.  The Doctor winced as he pulled her into the corset, hating to cover her up in this way.  He didn't like the feeling of reshaping her.  It was almost too much. 

She fixed up her hair at the vanity and he tried not to stare, looking at the long, scooped sleeves of the dress and the squared neckline.  He brought a parallel from her to Reinette, but it wasn't the sort of parallel she was expecting.  He admired Reinette, that was true, but Rose was so _alive,_ like she could breathe life into everything she touched just because she had so much left over. 

She didn't see him looking, only jumped a little when Matthew knocked on the door and told them morning meal would be served shortly if they wanted to attend. 

As she smiled at him and linked her arm through his, he only registered one thought.

After what he had done last night, they were decidedly not okay.


	11. Chapter 11

By the time Rose and the Doctor had been led down to the main dining room, Rose seemed to be back to her normal self, but the Doctor had seen her guard start to go back up as they walked there.  

"Mrs. Smith!" Marie cried, standing from her place at the table to run to Rose and embrace her.  "How are you faring?"  

Rose blinked, a little surprised at the woman's language, momentarily forgetting where they were.  She locked onto the correct response and smiled.  "I'm well, Mrs. Glasser, thank you for your concern."

She missed the Doctor's glance of approval at her words.  Before she could catch anything from him, they were all seated around the table, all eyes on her, watching her and making sure she didn't pass out before she sat down.

"I don't wish to sound insensitive," Ben asked, "But did you find out what it was that had a hold on your wife, Doctor James?"

"Sort of," the Doctor said slowly, making a non-commital gesture with his hand.  "We found out that it wants to be helped, which, in itself, is a very large step forward."

Matthew came around the table, setting plates of deviled eggs and small glass dishes of fruit in front of every person at the table.  Rose tried to pretend that her stomach wasn't turning at the sight and smell of all of it.  She pushed it all down and spoke up where the Doctor had left off.

"It also cannot be touched," she added, choosing her words carefully, "Or it leaves whatever it's... Inhabiting at the time."

"Inhabiting?" Marie frowned.  "It remained, possessing you?"

The Doctor fidgeted nervously in his seat, knowing the wrong answer would get them kicked out of the Glasser's home, and then they wouldn't be saved.  He sighed and tried to wave it off.  "No, not exactly, more like it was speaking through her.  But it can't do that for too long, because it will hurt whoever it's speaking through."

"It could have killed your wife!" Ben gasped, and the Doctor almost rolled his eyes at the drama in the man's voice.

Rose didn't appreciate being spoken about as if she weren't even in the room, so she chimed in again.  "Yes, well, it didn't.  Once... My husband touched my arm, the entity was gone.  It had no intention of hurting me, but it can't stop itself from what it, well, does."  She colored deeply, realizing she hadn't explained that as well as she'd hoped.  

"And the point is, now we know more," the Doctor added, "We run into dangerous beings all the time, Mr. Glasser.  We came to help you, not to be safe."  

"We appreciate everything that you have done for us," Marie cut in as her husband was opening his mouth, "But we could not live with ourselves if either of you got hurt, I'm sure you can understand that."

"I do," the Doctor said softly, and Rose could only hope that he wasn't thinking about the Time War.  Usually she would've reached over to take his hand, but right now, she didn't think that was an intimacy she should be indulging in after things had been made crystal clear to her the night before.

"How long to you think it will take to vanquish this beast?" Ben asked, a casual tone in his voice.

"If we don't need to, we'll try not to kill it," The Doctor said firmly.  "It just wants help, it's scared."

The other couple was quiet for a few long moments, as if not knowing whether to believe the Doctor and Rose or not.  Of course, they didn't have much of a choice, because they made something so odd make sense.  And how was it that they did that, anyways?

"Even after what has happened to your wife, you're willing to stay?" Marie asked slowly, as if trying to clarify the whole thing.

The Doctor nodded slowly, his fingers twitching to reach for Rose's, but instead clenching together in his lap, as though he weren't aching to touch her.  "Yes.  And she would have done the same if the entity had chosen me to possess.  What it won't have is either of you."

"You can't know that," Ben objected.

"No, but we can do our very best to prevent it," Rose said confidently. 

Ben nodded thoughtfully, taking all of this into consideration.  "And what do you propose we do, to help you in your endeavors?" He asked.

"Stay in the house," the Doctor said, almost too quickly.  "We can't have it running amok in town, and that's what it'll do if it gets curious.  Then we'll never be able to catch it, it'll inhabit person after person until..." He paused, realizing how frightened the Glassers looked.  "We keep it here.  No one leaves.  Should have enough resources for that, shouldn't we?"

Marie nodded.  "Yes, our kitchen is always completely prepared for any sort of event that may occur, but I must confess I never imagined one as odd as this."

Rose smiled warmly at her.  "There was a time when I would've said the same."

Marie returned the smile, obviously comforted by it and the words that sat behind it.  The Doctor chanced a proud glance in Rose's direction at the ability to calm the other woman, and found that she was not even trying to make eye contact with him.

Oh, he'd really botched this up, hadn't he?  Ruined his friendship with her, along with anything else that could've come with him saying "yes," instead of "not tonight, Rose."  He didn't think he'd ever regretted words more than he did those three, and he had said a good many words over the centuries. 

Defeated, he returned to the conversation, promising himself he wouldn't push Rose, but he would try to get things back to the way they were.  He didn't think he could bear it if they didn't, if she wanted to be taken home when the whole crisis was averted.  None of that would do, he _needed_ her, and he wasn't as afraid to admit it now. 

And Rose was feeling very defeated herself, and rejected, and unwanted.  What the Doctor didn't know was that she had no intention on going home.  An awkward fixings-up of a friendship with the Doctor was better than being a shop girl, and she was sure that somewhere in that great, thick head of his he knew that. 

"Well, what do we do?"  Ben persisted, snapping Rose out of her reverie and bringing the Doctor a step closer to reality.  "Is it not a servant of the devil?"

"No, it's something else entirely," the Doctor promised them quickly, "The devil does not reside within your home."

Both Marie and Ben seemed to give out a great sigh of relief at that, leaning back slightly in their chairs. 

"Well then," Rose grinned, "I say we formulate a plan to catch it."


	12. Chapter 12

"What sort of plan do you propose?" Ben asked, furrowing his brows skeptically.

"There's got to be a way to draw it out again," Rose said carefully.  "We know it's not the devil, so there's really no harm in drawing it back into me, is there?  It can speak through me, and tell you all how to save it."

"Even if it's not the devil, Rose," the Doctor cut in, sounding anxious, "It's still potentially dangerous for you to invite a being into your mind, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Did it once before," Rose shrugged and smiled at the couple across the table from her.  "And all I needed to do was sleep it off, in the end.  How's that?" 

"Mr. Smith, your wife seems dead-set on her plan," Ben said nervously, as though not sure how to respond to all of that.

"I seemed to have gathered that," the Doctor gave a tight smile.  "It is something that we, as a group, will have to discuss."

Rose narrowed her eyes at the Doctor.  Who was he to tell her that they were going to 'discuss' it?  She knew the Doctor's discussions.  They consisted of the Doctor talking and everyone else listening and nodding.  Usually she didn't mind it, in fact, she sometimes enjoyed it, because she loved when he got passionate about things, but not today.  This was her decision.

"I'm afraid I've already made up my mind," Rose said firmly, "And I want to help it, no matter what the cost.  We can't let it enter Marie or Ben, James, I think you know that full well.  I'm the only being it's inhabited, so we know it will be virtually safe."

"Virtually," the Doctor reminded her.  "There could be variables, that we, as scientists, cannot foresee." 

Rose turned towards Marie and Ben.  "Perhaps if the two of you would pray over me while we call on the entity, my husband would feel more comfortable."

"Your husband would not," the Doctor shot back.

"If it's fair to you, Doctor Smith, if you have a better idea, I'd suggest you present it," Ben suggested, "Because if you do not, your wife's seems feasible and, well, it has already been tested, so to speak."

Rose watched as an inner war waged within the Doctor.  It was two on one now, as Marie sat, remaining opinionless.  It seemed as though she was having trouble doing that, however, and eventually spoke up.

"I think Rose is correct," she blurted out, "It is she that the entity spoke to, and she is well now, as though nothing had even transpired!  Her spirit must be very strong."

"That's one way of putting it," the Doctor muttered.  Rose dug the heel of her shoe into the toe of his at the words, very much wanting to throttle him in that moment, as she often did when he said daft things like that. 

Three to one.  The Doctor continued to struggle, wanting to keep his own ideas but clearly finding it difficult in the face of so much opposition.  His eyes flitted between the three of them, but barely settled on Rose before he moved on.  She tried not to be offended by that.  Obviously he regretted that he had been in bed with her for a time last night, and that was... Fine.  Yes, that was the word.  Fine. 

"We do this under my terms," the Doctor demanded.  "I ask you all to respectfully to recall that I am an expert on entities such as this, even if it is vaguely new to me.  It won't just take one session of this thing in Rose's head, possibly several, and I don't know what it will do to her."

"What do you care?" Rose snapped before she could stop herself.  "I'm sure I'll be fine, and it's not like we've got much of a choice.  We don't know what will happen if we don't do this."

"I'm not sure you'll be fine," the Doctor replied.  "It could hurt your mind every moment it's in there, and I can't-"

Rose held up a hand to stop him from finishing the sentence she knew he was about to start.  "I've decided, and it's my body that we will be testing on, yes.  Ben, Marie, I pray you won't think us rude for having this discussion at our hosts' table."

"No, not at all," Ben said simply.  "You are entitled to every word you utter in our home, especially when you are putting yourself at such risk for us.  I find you incredibly kind for wanting to do this for us, and being so sure of yourself."

"Someone's got to be," she grinned at Ben, and the Doctor couldn't help but take her words as a dig.

Is this what they were reduced to?  Arguing at a table and throwing backhanded statements at each other without even directing them at each other?  That was just madness and he wouldn't take it.  He wanted to open his mouth and tell her that she was a fool for putting herself in danger like this.  If she'd been so painfully cold and alone after the first exposure, what would a second do to her?  Throw her into a quivering, freezing mess?

Or would it make her forget what it was like to feel anything else?

"What do you say, John?" Marie asked anxiously, "I do so much want your approval for us to continue this."

The Doctor sighed heavily through his nose.  "Yes, you have my regretful approval.  I worry for Rose, truly fear for her, but I suppose we really must continue on with this."

Rose smiled, "I knew you'd understand."

"What must you do to prepare for an event like this?" Ben asked.

The Doctor tried to make eye contact with Rose, but she was looking down at the table as if nothing had even been said.  Usually with things like this they would collaborate, a silent conversation between their eyes before one of them spouted out what both had been thinking.  And now she wouldn't even look at him.  had he really mucked up so badly?

In Rose's mind, it was she who had royally made things one thousand times worse for asking the Doctor to stay with her.  Even now, in the daylight hours, she felt like a naïve, vulnerable fool, and she hated every second that the feeling passed through her.  It was madness, all of it, and she thought she'd best let the Doctor take care of it, anyways.

"We require two hours of prayer and meditation in our thoughts to keep our minds clear and level headed," the Doctor responded.  "We suggest everyone else in the home do the same, pray for my dear Rose, try to keep her safe with your words."

Rose found the Doctor's words so convincing that she almost believed him.  His term of endearment was the only thing that made her close her eyes against the pain that flashed through him.  Pretending to be married was one thing, but pretending to adore her was a horse of a completely different color.

"If you think that is what you require, we will do it," Marie nodded.  "I suggest we all pray here, together, before dispersing, don't you?"

"I agree," Rose nodded, and reached her hand out for the other woman's.  Marie grinned and settled her hand into Rose's, and without looking at him, Rose reached for the Doctor's.

He hoped the haste with which he took her hand told her exactly what he thought of all of this.  He almost sobbed with the contact of her warm hand in his cool one, a touch he felt he might be denied of for a long time.  He clutched her fingers, afraid she'd pull away, and was relieved when she returned all of the pressure. 

Ben reached for the Doctor's and his wife's hands, and they all bowed their heads, waiting for someone to start the prayer.

The Doctor peeked to make sure the other couple had their head bowed before turning to try to catch Rose's eye.  Unfortunately, her eyes were dutifully closed and her head tilted downwards.  Oh, how he hated this. 

"Dear Lord above us," Ben began, "Please protect your daughter, Rose Smith, as she embarks on a journey to save the members of this household from a being unknown to us.  We want to save it, to find what it desires and free it from its prison.  Please, watch over your sons and daughters as we begin our dangerous mission.  And all of God's people said-"

"Amen." 


	13. Chapter 13

The four adults around the table gave each other polite 'good lucks' and 'goodbyes' as they parted their separate ways for their two hours.  Rose had a sneaking suspicion that the Doctor did it so they could have a conversation.  Probably so he could shut her down properly, she thought.

"Blessings on your prayers," Marie said, taking Rose's hand in her own.

Rose offered the other woman a smile and squeezed her hand.  "And on yours as well.  And yours, Ben."

Ben returned her statement with a grateful smile.  "It is much appreciated.  Go now, we will reconvene her after the two hours have passed."

The Doctor nodded beside Rose, giving the other couple a smile before directing Rose towards the stairs and back towards their room.

He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her from the dining room.  The feel of his hand on her did horrible things to her, made her think of those hands in her hair or around her waist, anywhere, somewhere.  She tried not to think of it, because that would only make what she knew he had to say worse.

The tension between them was ratcheting up, becoming almost unbearable, but Rose couldn't tell what kind of tension it was.  What were they?  What was all this?  Honestly, all she wanted to do was help the entity, save the Glassers, and get out.  Was that really too much to ask? 

She huffed quietly to herself, hoping to release some of her pent up energy that way.  Unfortunately, it only succeeded in her getting a confused glance from the Doctor that sent her blood boiling for two different reasons.

Now would've been the point, had this been a normal day, where he'd grab for her hand or pull her arm, linking it through his.  Instead, he kept his hand on her back, barely a whisper against the fabric of her dress, but it was enough to unnerve her, to make her wonder what was truly going on in that head of his. 

Not that she'd ever know, because the Doctor was a mysterious entity all in himself, this odd puzzle that, she was sure for her whole life she'd try to figure out and never would.  She'd struggle with it, ponder over it, fall even more in love with it, and it would be ripped from her.

Was probably about to be ripped from her, she reminded herself.  Especially after she called him to bed with her the night before. 

They reached their bedroom and the Doctor opened the door for her.  Rose murmured her thanks as she entered, ducking under his arm.  She was attuned to everything, heard him shut the door and click the lock, heard him come up behind her, seeming uncertain.

"Why did you move to the couch last night?" He asked quietly.

That was not the question she had been expecting, but she wasn't about to let the shock change her demeanor.  Rose lifted a shoulder casually and moved to the night table, picking up the Holy Bible from the top of it.  "This and that," she said dismissively, sitting down on said couch and flipping open the book. 

She thought he might put himself beside her and grumble his frustration or throw himself on his back on the bed and natter on about the entity.  All in all, she expected him to push it aside and help her do what she was supposed to be doing.  She wasn't expecting him to get on his knees before her, his hands on either side of her thighs. 

"Doctor, get up," she said, exasperated.

"Rose, why did you move from the bed to the couch?" The Doctor asked again, as if she hadn't spoken.  "I woke up and you were over there."

Rose wriggled uncomfortably under the heat of the Doctor's gaze.  "You know, midnight wanderings, me."  She said cheerfully, turning many pages at a time to get to the index of the Bible for things on spirits or other related topics. 

"Is it because I-"

"You know, Doctor, we should probably finish what we were doing, or supposed to be doing," she reminded him. 

He pursed his lips and watched her, as if trying to decipher her next move.  He scooted closer to her, his chest touching her knees.  "It occurs to me that we have not been playing our roles, Rose Tyler," he said lowly, "Or should I say, Rose Smith?  Anyone looking at us would suppose that we aren't married, just mates scandalously travelling together."

She furrowed her brows at him.  Why was he doing this to her?  He had to know that it was torture, having him there, right there, and being afraid to touch him, yes, because of last night.  It had been too much, far too much and she didn't think she could stand it for even another moment.

"Since when has it mattered what people think of us?" She demanded of him, trying not to sound too eager for the answer.

His hands slid to hips.  "It matters what you think of me," he replied.

"That doesn't make any sense with what I just said," Rose shot back, glaring at him before returning to the book. 

She heard him give a little huff of aggravation beside her and almost smiled at her success.  He couldn't do this to her, push her away one night and be all over her the next morning, hands on her like this; it wasn't fair.  He was playing with her, toying with her, as if she didn't have any emotions.  Had he done this to all of his companions? It must be some great game to him, 'see which companion to corrupt next'.  It was probably a big hit among the Time Lords, she thought wryly.  He'd done a good job with her, at any rate.

She barely noticed him stand so that he was hunching over her, his body a cage over hers where she sat.  His lips brushed over her temple and she masterfully repressed a shiver, having had almost two years of practice at it.

"What do you say, Rose?" The Doctor purred into her ear, and she closed her eyes.  "I think it's about time we got into character, don't you?"

A cold chill went through her.  That's what all this was about?  Him 'getting into character'?  She wasn't about to take that, and if he knew anything about her, or pretended to, he would know that about her, had to. 

She felt her blood boil as his lips trailed towards her mouth and she turned her head away with each passing kiss, all of them landing on her cheek.  She felt tears rise up behind her eyes, only thinking of how unfair this was, how bloody cruel. 

"Don't do this to me," she whispered, any pretense of being strong or nonchalant forgotten as she trembled under his heat.  "This isn't fair."

"Rose," he whispered, his nose drawing down her cheek.  She felt her breath hitch as his voice tickled her skin.  "I think it's perfectly fair.  Couples do things like this, don't they?  You've seen those romantic comedies, how does it end?"

"Sometimes with the heroine very broken on her own front porch," Rose said hotly, drawing her own attention back to the Bible.  "Now go sit down and think about God."

"You can't pretend that-"

"I'm not the one pretending, Doctor!  Alright?  Just sit down next to me, and we can think about this, figure it out before I let that thing into my head."

The rate at which he obeyed her was almost alarming, the way he threw himself into the seat on the couch next to her.  He bounced on it experimentally.  "You know, this can't be very comfortable," he remarked, almost conversationally.  "At all.  How did you sleep on it?"

"You almost did," she reminded him, her tone cold.  "I was tired.  It had been a long day, if you recall, and today's about to be another long one, so maybe I should take a nap."

She heard the Doctor open his mouth and start to respond before he closed it with an audible 'click'.  "Are you very tired?"

"Sort of," Rose admitted, rubbing her head.  It wasn't a lie.  "And I'm gonna be tired again, cause of that thing.  So, maybe it's best if I just rest for awhile."

The Doctor pulled the leather bound Bible from her hands and laid it next to him on the couch.  "You're probably right," he said, and for some reason, his voice sounded regretful. 

She stood up and toed her shoes off, running through her mind how she was going to nap to keep her hair from getting too messed up, not thinking anyone else in the house from this time period would appreciate a mussed appearance. 

"Would you like me to join you?" He asked as she situated herself on the mattress, her skirts all around her so that they wouldn't wrinkle. 

She shot him a look before turning towards the wall opposite him.  "You don't want to," she replied before stilling on the bed. 

She didn't see his shoulders sag forwards in defeat as she fell asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Rose awoke to someone gently shaking her shoulder.  Her eyelids fluttered open and she was met with the Doctor's gaze.  He'd apparently crouched by the bed so that he was eye level with her when she awoke. 

She studied him for a moment, floating up from sleep, and for just a brief moment, she wanted to reach out and touch his cheek.  It took her a moment before she remembered that wasn't something that was allowed.

"We've half an hour left," he told her, "Are you ready?"

She blinked slowly, taking a moment for pause.  She lifted the shoulder that wasn't pressed to the bed and looked him in the eye again.  "Are you ever ready for something like this?"

"It's never really happened," the Doctor admitted, "You said that you were cold, and felt lonely, and that didn't happen with Cassandra, for either of us."

Rose felt a glaze go over her eyes at the mention of feeling cold and alone.  When he'd rejected her.  She didn't want to think of it.  It was too painful, so she closed off.  "That's right," she said shortly.  "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"You're afraid." the Doctor said simply.  It wasn't a question.

Rose heaved a heavy sigh through her nose and moved to a sitting position.  "It's not easy to not be afraid all the time, and sometimes I think you forget that.  All I know is I want to help, and this is how I can do it, how I can save the Glassers.  Don't you get that?"

"Of course I do," the Doctor replied, his voice sharp.  "Of _course_ I understand the need to do something, the need to save someone.  But you're a lot more-"

"Fragile?" Rose offered, "Needy?  _Human?"_

"Don't say that like it's a bad thing," the Doctor snapped at her.

Rose pretended to look startled.  "Isn't it?  Sorry, I guess sometimes I forget when I've got a best mate who doesn't think I can do anything helpful for the universe."

Quick as a whip the Doctor was on the bed with her, kneeling in front of her, his hands firmly gripping her shoulders.  "Is that what you think?  That after all this you truly believe I don't find you helpful or that I need you? That the universe needs you?"

"Well, it doesn't!" Rose nearly shouted before remembering they were supposed to be quiet.  "I do what I can, I save who I can, and if this is what I have to do, than that's it, then.  And if I die doing it-"

"Don't say that."

"If I die doing it," she repeated, glaring at him, "At least I'll have died doing something good.  Better than living a long life of not doing anything, don't you think?  So you can quit all your high and mighty Time Lord rubbish because frankly, I'm sick of it.  This is something I'm going to do."

"I didn't say I was going to stop you," the Doctor said slowly, his grip not loosening from her shoulders.  "That was never the intention.  I know by now that when you have your mind set to something, that's what you're going to do.  But that doesn't mean I don't feel... Anxious, when I think about you putting yourself in danger."

Rose studied him for a moment, watching the near panic in his eyes that she hadn't really noticed through her own haze of anger.  "Just have them get me extra blankets for when I get cold tonight."

He dropped his hands from her as though she'd stung him, and in a way, she had.  She'd blatantly told him, for the second time, what her issue with him was, and he was still too much of a coward to fix it.  So he sat on his knees on the bed before her, his brows drawn together and dimple forming in his left cheek. 

"Fine, if that's how you want it," he said, sliding off the bed.  "I'll have Matthew fetch blankets."

"I didn't say it was how I wanted it," Rose muttered to herself, combing her fingers through her hair. 

"What did you say?" The Doctor asked.

"Nothing," Rose lied casually, following him off of the bed.

They were acting like children and she knew it.  She could tell they were dancing around the issue, because it was what they did best, after all.  They glared at each other across empty rooms, avoiding the elephant in it at all costs, because it hurt too much.

Rose adjusted her dress and slipped her shoes back on, giving the Doctor another stern look.  "Are you ready?"

"Twenty minutes," he replied.  "Come here?"

"Why?"

She wasn't sure why she was behaving as though she were wary of him, because she wasn't, she still trusted him with her life, but in some part of her mind, she wanted him to be sorry, to feel nothing but remorse for rejecting her. 

He gave her a look, a look there was no way he could know she couldn't resist.  His head was cocked to the side, almost in defeat, his eyes wide and eyebrows drawn together.  She huffed quietly and walked to where he stood, looking up into his face. 

Cautiously, he held his arms out for her, anxiously awaiting her response to the gesture.  And there was no way he could know she couldn't deny him this.  She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, her cheek against his chest. 

She heard his shuddering sigh of relief as he pulled her closer, his hands splayed across her back and chin resting on the top of her head.  She couldn't tell if this was an apology or something else, and she couldn't bring herself to ask about it.  Instead, she just burrowed close to him, saving up the memory of his warmth for when cold would seep through all the way to her bones.  The closer she got to him the closer he held her, almost preventing her ribs from expanding so she could breathe.

He didn't seem to want to let her go, but eventually she started to pull away, because there was still so much _wrong_ between them, and she didn't want this to be something that was brushed under the rug.  This wasn't going to be another thing that he pretended never happened, gone out of his mind by the next adventure, nearly erased from history by the next planet.

If he pretended that, she'd remember more vividly than ever, every piece of her straining to fix what had been wrong.  But he'd move on and she'd hold on, and they'd grow apart.  She'd speak to him about it, when they finished what they were doing here, when all of it was sorted, but right now, she didn't need anything clouding her judgment.

But the Doctor did a fine job of distracting her all by himself.

She ignored the odd look that passed through his eyes as she pulled away from him.  "You should've let me sleep longer," She said, her tone gently chiding.

"No, I think it was a fine time for you to get up," the Doctor replied.

Rose didn't want to mention that now they had twenty minutes of awkward silence to sit through, which was worse than her getting a bit too much sleep.  "Well," she said, "We don't know how much sleep I'm going to get tonight."

"You'll get enough."

Rose furrowed her brows at him.  "You're not going to sonic me to sleep," she snapped.  "It doesn't work like that, I'm not a machine you can just shut off when I get to be too much work."

The Doctor lunged forward and cupped her face in his hands, inspecting her eyes. "What's wrong with you?" He demanded, "Did it do something to you?"

Murmurings outside their door stopped Rose from replying and drew both their attention.  A tentative knock sounded at the door.  "Doctor and Mrs. Smith?  Are you ready?  We heard you speaking?" Marie's voice came through the door. 

"Yes," Rose said lightly, pulling away from the Doctor's touch, but he wouldn't let her this time.  She looked up into his face.  "We're ready."


	15. Chapter 15

Rose walked towards the door, pushing past the Doctor.  She opened the door and smiled warmly at Marie and Ben, who stood just outside.  "We're ready," she said to her.

"I've discovered something," Ben said casually as they started to walk along back to the staircase.  "The... Entity, you called it?  We did not summon it, but it seemed to attack your wife, Doctor Smith.  How will we bring it about?"

"I'll talk to it," Rose replied, "I've no doubt it remembers being in my head.  It is not of this world, Mr. Glasser.  Its mind is probably miles and miles above ours."

She missed, as she usually did, the incredibly proud glance the Doctor threw her way at her words.

Marie nodded.  "It sounds logical," she said, "And you are both people of logic, I understand."

The Doctor nodded, "Yes, and I think Rose's idea will work fine," he said, "If she speaks to it, it might recognize her as someone who is willing to help and speak through her, as it did last night.  And if not, all it takes is a touch to make it leave."

Rose shivered at the thought.  She couldn't imagine living a whole life without ever being touched, which is what the entity had gone through.  It had possibly even lived eons longer than her or even the Doctor, all without feeling the warmth of another being, even while it was inhabiting someone. 

The four of them walked to the parlor and were seated in the couches facing each other that they had sat in upon their first arrival.  Rose wanted nothing more than to reach over and grab the Doctor's hand in hers, but at this point, it was only her pride stopping her from doing so.  Her fingers twitched without her permission.

The Doctor set a hand on the small of her back as she was sitting forward and rubbed his palm in soothing circles across the fabric of her dress.  It should've been comforting, but the only thing Rose could think of was what that would feel like without the hindrance of fabric.  She catalogued the sensation of his hand, against her dress (Reality) and skin (imagination) away for later, when her body would be iced from the inside.

There was a heavy silence over them, remembering exactly what they were doing, the danger they were putting Rose in.  Rose realized this was not a situation to take lightly, but somewhere in her mind she realized if she saved Ben and Marie, even if she died, it would be worth it.

"Alright, are we ready?" Rose asked quietly.

The Doctor's hand froze on her back and he slowly pulled it away, knowing he wouldn't be able to touch her as they were doing this.  An uneasy feeling crept up his back and he repressed a shudder at the odd sensation.

"Whenever you are ready," Ben nodded, his wife with an anxious look on her face beside him. 

Rose heaved a harsh sigh and sat farther forward in her seat, her eyes cast over Marie's head and to the wall.  "Remember me?"  She called, "I want to help you, but you're gonna have to talk through me again.  It's okay, cause my... Husband, Doctor James Smith, he's going to grab my arm and get you right out of me, so you don't have to worry about hurting me.  Okay?  Just come here and tell us what you want."

Almost the second Rose finished speaking, she slumped back onto the couch, her eyes closed. The Doctor had to physically restrain himself from reaching out to her, her neck tilted at an odd angle as she collapsed backwards.

She shot into a standing position so fast that the Doctor wondered if there had even been a moment when she had fallen backwards, or if he had just imagined it.  He blinked hard, trying to clear his head and focus on what was happening to her right now.

Her eyes flew open and she inhaled sharply before leveling out, her eyes staring, unseeing, at a point on the wall.  The others in the room, on reflex, got to their feet as well, all eyes fixed on her. 

"So cold," Rose murmured.  No.  Not Rose.  The Entity.

"Tell us what you need," the Doctor said, hoping to get its attention.  "We'll do our best to help you."

Rose's gaze shot to the Doctor, her eyes wide and glassy.  "I know not what I require," the Entity said mournfully.  "But you... You, Doctor James Smith, you have a tool you could use to find out what I need.  I could imprint you, and let you begin your research on me."

"My sonic screwdriver?" The Doctor asked, furrowing his brows.  He turned to a confused Ben and Marie Glasser.  He waved his hand dismissively.  "Oh, you know, science things.  Very ahead of the times, believe me."

"Yes!" The Entity cried, a ghoulish parody of Rose's voice.  "Yes, yes, the sonic device!  If I imprint on it, you may discover more about me than I know.  I beg you, I beg, you, please!" 

"And how do you know that?" The Doctor asked suspiciously, "How do you know that you need to get in the sonic?"

"It calls to me," the Entity replied, shifting Rose's eyes back to the wall above Marie's head.  "It would help me, I know it would.  You could create another sonic if you chose, could you not?"

"Of course I could, but we don't even know if you'd break the sonic when you inhabit it," the Doctor argued back.

"That is true," the Entity lowered Rose's head.  "That is true," it said quietly, a tear slipping from Rose's eye.  "But I would not want you to blame me when I only want to be saved.  I am so lost."

"I know you're lost," Marie said sympathetically.  "That's why we want to help you, you understand that, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Good, then you must know that a broken.... Sonic device?" She looked at the Doctor for conformation and he nodded.  "It will not stop us from helping you.  Mrs. Smith, the body you are inhabiting, she is... Convinced you are not of the devil, and convinced that we can help."

Rose's head snapped up.  "I am not of the devil," it said firmly.  "I promise."  Rose's lower lip trembled.  "I want to touch someone." Rose fingertips stretched towards Marie, but the other woman backed up.

"You can't touch any of us, it'll make you leave Rose," The Doctor reminded the Entity.  

Rose's hands lifted to cover her face.  "She is lonely too!" The Entity shouted, its voice muffled by her fingers.  "She only wants to be loved, she is always reaching, even now, reaching, reaching, for someone who will never reach back, who remains to be distant!"

The Doctor began to feel uncomfortable.  That's what Rose thought?  That he was never reaching for her?  Didn't she know that he always wanted to be with her?  Always wanted to reach for her?

"Then she does not know that someone very well," the Doctor replied, "Rose is well loved."

"A man, who Mrs. Smith courted," the Entity reached one of Rose's hand out as if pointing to a memory, "He is forgotten when you come into the moment, Doctor Smith.  Every piece of you, that is what she craves, oh, there is so much _loneliness_ in this mind, so much great suffering and pain." 

Rose's body collapsed to the floor and the Entity started crying in earnest.  She was on her hands and knees now, one palm brought up to cover her eyes.  "No, she is so full of love, so full of energy and excitement, but she feels as though none of it is returned, how unfair, this poor human girl!"

The Doctor couldn't take any more.  He reached down and grabbed Rose's arm and she screamed.


	16. Chapter 16

The moment the Doctor's fingers connected with the skin of Rose's arm just below the sleeve of her dress, she began crying out.  And not just normal, I'm-about-to-be-murdered screaming.  She seemed to be wrenching away from him, trying to escape him.  He got down onto his knees and pulled her over into a sitting position. 

She continued to claw at him, to try to free herself, but he kept his skin in contact with hers, knowing that was the only way to get into the entity.  He stared into Rose's face, watching as tears slipped from her eyes and she screamed at him.  He tried to keep his face neutral, but seeing her in distress only caused anxiety in him, and his lower lip trembled with the effort of trying to keep himself together. 

"What's it doing to her?" Marie shouted, cowering into her husband's side, for which the Doctor couldn't blame her. 

"I don't know, it wasn't like this last time," the Doctor replied in a loud tone, "She just passed out last time.  Rose!"  He shook her roughly and her head lolled forward, sobs continuing to rack her body.

"Why is it making her cry?" Ben asked anxiously, leaning over to look at her. 

The Doctor knew it wasn't the Entity making her cry.  It had left her with a deeper sense of lonliness, drawing on her own, pulling her deeper with it.  She'd probably be near delirious for the whole day, he was certain. 

He lifted her into his arms, which was no small feat with her clawing and screeching.  He trapped her shoulders between his own shoulder and his hand.  "I don't want you to worry," he said, addressing Marie and Ben.  He sighed heavily, "We'll have to do this again, anyways."

Marie's eyes widened to the size of saucers.  "Why?" She asked, completely stunned.  "She will surely be injured if she does this again!"

"I need the entity to inhabit my device," the Doctor explained as patiently as he could around Rose's writhing form.  "It can't, not without entering Rose first."

"You must take her to bed immediately.  Shall we send for a Doctor?"  Ben asked, stepping forwards as if already on his way to do so.

"I am a Doctor," he squared his jaw.  "And we can't send for anyone.  They'll only be put in danger.  We can't do that to anyone."

Marie and Ben nodded solemnly, both eyeing Rose with worried glances.  "Should we go with you?" Marie asked, so quietly she almost wasn't heard over Rose's screams.

"No," the Doctor said quickly.  "It will only frighten you," he paused, thinking on his next words.  "Pray for her.  I just have to calm her down."

"Go with God," Ben and Marie said together, firmly.  He envied them, how they were a solid unit against the world, a force not to be reckoned with.

"Go with God," the Doctor replied.  He walked from the room and carried the hysterical Rose with him.

***

When she woke up, Rose was aware that she was crying out, but now someone was trying to pin her down somewhere.  On a bed.  But they didn't go anywhere, they had just been in the parlor.  All she knew was she was being pressed by a crushing loneliness that she could only get out by... _Screaming._

She thrashed against the hands that held her, recognizing them as the Doctor's and resenting them, hating them for making her feel things, for making her love them, love all of him, when he didn't deserve it, when all he did was hang her out to dry.

Eventually though, she seemed to run out of breath and just settled on crying, feeling the first shivers go through her.   She kept her eyes closed against it all, fighting the upsetting feelings coursing through her.

That was what it was about, wasn't it?  Being upset.  She was so upset.  She wanted to curl up and die, and she was so lonely.  She curled up on the bed, trying to gather her own body heat and failing desperately. 

The hands that had been on her arms to pin her to the bed now moved across her body in an almost delicate motion.  She cringed and pulled away.  He was pitying her again.

"The blankets," she choked out hoarsely, struggling to regain any sense of composure.  "I'm cold."

"Rose, open your eyes," the Doctor said slowly, as if afraid she would refuse him.

It would've been easy, to deny him, but she didn't.  She opened her eyes and stared into his.  He was kneeling at her side again.  His fingers stroked across her face.  "Rose."

"The blankets," she whispered again. 

He drew his hand back slowly.  "We have to get you in just your night shift.  Stand up."

She was freezing cold, the need for touch pulsing through her but she couldn't bring herself to move and touch him.  She moved shakily to her feet, and the Doctor moved behind her to untie the laces that held the dress up.

She had to hold on to the desk before her to keep herself from falling over, feeling the weight of the cold buckling her knees.  The Doctor's fingers moved against her back, undoing the laces.  She felt him lean forward and felt the first press of his lips against her left shoulder blade.

She jolted forwards, almost knocking her head on the wall with shock.  Miraculously, a flood of warmth went through her.  The feel of it combing with the cold made her knees buckle.  He caught her around the waist, steadying her.  "I've got you," he whispered against her skin.  He continued to press his lips to her shoulder blade, moving up to the back of her neck, easily sweeping her hair out of way with one hand.

She choked on another sob, resenting her body for the pulsing warmth now being shot through her veins.  "This isn't fair," she said quietly.

"What's not fair?" The Doctor asked before kissing her just under her ear.

"All this," Rose whimpered as his teeth grazed her shoulder.  "You pretending you want me."  She found strength to push him away from her, turning to face him.  She braced herself by leaning backwards on the desk.

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow at her and walked to the bedroom door.  Making direct eye contact with her, he locked the bedroom door.  He walked up to her, his hands easily finding her waist.  "I was never pretending."

"Yes you were," Rose argued.  "You... Not staying with me when I'm freezing cold and lonely as hell, and then the neck morning kissin' my cheek and saying we need to 'get into character'," she shot him a dirty look, "Is that all this is to you, some _game_?"

The Doctor sighed.  "Don't ever think that," He said firmly.  He leaned forward, his nose brushing the side of hers.  "Have _me_ , Rose.  Just me."

He moved forwards another inch and pressed his mouth to hers. 

Rose was too lonely, and aching for him too much, to resist him.  She sobbed into his mouth, which only made him press her against the desk harder, his arms winding around her, opening his mouth over hers. 

She opened for him, because there was nothing else for her to do, and her hands somehow found his hair, fisting in it.  He kissed her fiercely, as though trying to devour her through it, seeking for every piece of her that he could grasp.

Fire continued to shoot through her over and over, with each separation and joining of their lips, tongues coming into play.  Almost without her realizing, he grabbed the shoulders of her gown and pulled it forward.  It was that which made her pull away with a sudden gasp.

She leveled her gaze to him, his eyes dark and hooded, lips parted and kiss-swollen.  He leaned towards her and kissed her ear.  "Why'd you stop?"  He pressed closer to her and groaned, deep in the back of his throat.  "Don't stop."

Rose clutched at his shoulders, another sob rising within her.  "Because you don't want me."

He pulled away from her suddenly, shock written all over his face.  "Oh, that's it," he growled.  He pulled the dress from her arms, the fabric pooling at the floor and leaving her in her corset, nightshift, and stockings.  She gawked at him as he violently pulled his jacket and tie off before coming back to her and ripping her corset down the front, an amount of strength shown from him that made her shiver with something else entirely.

"You're angry," She whispered, praying if he was, if that was only reason he was doing this, he'd stop it now.

"No, I'm really not," he lifted her around the waist and carried her the couple of steps to the bed before throwing her onto it.  He jumped on it as well, crawling up her body until his face was over hers.  "I'm anything but angry, and I can _prove_ it." 


	17. Chapter 17

Even though he told her he was going to prove something to her, he held himself over her, waiting for her to make the next move.  Rose swallowed and reached up to trace his nose.  Her other hand joined in and she cupped his cheek.  "Then why didn't you want to stay with me?"

He sighed and dropped to kiss her slowly and languidly before pulling back to address her question.  "Because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to restrain myself."  He said it almost as if he were embarrassed. 

Rose arched an eyebrow.  "And yet you were willing to let me lay there and feel my blood freeze?"  Her voice was dull, and she knew he could tell he was losing her.

  He clutched her shift with one hand, trying to keep her as close as possible before she tried to get away.  "Yes, if it meant protecting you."

She felt aftershocks of the cold go through her, and she shivered.  The Doctor caught it and lowered himself almost fully on top of her.  "Rose, let me warm you up."

She giggled. "You did not just say that."

He kissed her cheek.  "Pretty appropriate," his lips drifted to her nose and then her other cheek.  "Wouldn't you say?"

He didn't give her a chance to respond before he shifted down to kiss her again.  One of his hands came up to cradle her face and she moved hers to begin work on his Oxford buttons, never moving her mouth from his. 

It seemed as though, all of a sudden, he couldn't get close enough to her.  How he was even holding himself up, Rose didn't know, but she was appreciating the feel of his hands all over her to object to him or ask him. 

She eventually had to move away from him to see what she was doing and reached down to undo his last button.  On her way back up, she dragged her hands along the taut muscles of his stomach and chest, watching his expression. His eyes fell shut and he dropped his forehead to hers. 

"So you're not doing this just for me?" She asked slowly, as if afraid of the answer. 

He opened his eyes again, which were almost completely black, and as an answer, kissed her again.  It was harsh and desperate and Rose couldn't breathe, nor could she bring herself to care about that fact.  She pulled him down completely on top of her, pulling him as physically close as she could get him. 

His arms wound between her back and the bed, and it should've hurt, him lying completely on top of her like this, but it really didn't.  Instead she felt protected, somehow loved, and _warm_.  So, so warm.  She felt as though any moment she had thought she was cold she had been wrong.

Sensing her need to breathe, the Doctor moved his lips from hers to her jaw, down to her neck, sucking and nipping and taking in her skin in hot, wet, kisses, being careful not to leave any marks.  He moved slowly down her chest before reached the neckline of her shift.  He looked up at her through his lashes, suddenly and clearly begging her for permission.  

Unable to speak, she nodded, and he grinned.  He attacked her mouth once more before undoing the laces at the top of the gown.  Before he could get any further with that, though, she pushed at his shoulders.  The rate at which he went back to sit on his knees made her feel guilty, even though she wasn't trying to stop him. 

She followed him up, sitting on her own knees to push his oxford off of his shoulders.  Understanding, he let it fall, and it slid from her arms onto the floor at the foot of the bed.  She watched him for a moment, running her fingers over his chest, and then leaned forward to pull him into a hug. 

This familiar territory in the midst of something so new was very comforting, and the Doctor found the same comfort she did, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in the side of her neck, inhaling her. 

She felt the double pounding of his hearts against her chest and slowly pulled away from him, watching him steadily as her hands slid down his bare arms.  He watched her curiously, since she'd now proved to be unpredictable when it came to this.  She slid back onto her bum and started to pull her stockings off, but he stopped her by tackling her down onto the bed.

The urgency had returned tenfold, and suddenly Rose's stockings were gone and she knew she hadn't been the one taking them off, so she was pretty certain it had been the Doctor.  She couldn't bring herself to think about it too hard, though, when his mouth was doing unspeakable things to her and all she could hear was them breathing raggedly through their noses. 

He slid his hand up her bare outer thigh and let out a long, low, groan, as if remembering he was touching places of her he never had before.  He pulled away from her mouth and reached down for her left hand.  She gave it to him and he lifted it to his cheek, nuzzling into her palm.

He kissed every finger before kissing her palm over and over, his breath and lips warming her from the inside out.  Her eyes fluttered shut as she realized what he was doing.  That hand had been the first part of her he'd ever touched, and he was now giving it it's full respect.  He laid the hand reverently back down and gazed down at her.

She lifted her eyes to his and cocked an eyebrow.  "Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked quietly.

He smiled at her and leaned over again, covering her entirely.  She slid her hands up to his shoulder and arched her eyebrows, silently asking her question again.  He sighed and lifted a shoulder.  "Because you're beautiful."

"Charmer," she said teasingly, running one of her hands through his hair.  "Stay with me?"

He tugged at her shift.  "Oh, _yes_."


	18. Chapter 18

Rose drifted up from consciousness slowly several hours later. How she'd even fallen asleep was beyond her, but she supposed a lot had been through a lot in the past couple of days, and the Entity inhabiting her would certainly be repeated at least once more

She tried to stretch but ran into something warm behind her. She froze where she was and felt whatever was behind her moving, rolling over to wrap an arm around her and burrow his face into her neck.

The Doctor had stayed with her. He'd stayed!  She couldn't stop herself from grinning as she cuddled back into him. He hummed in the back of his throat and kissed her neck, and her eyes fluttered closed, savoring his closeness.

She didn't want to wake him, or disturb him in any way, but she did feel that very human urge to _talk._ It felt foolish, especially after what they'd done. Hadn't he said enough to prove himself?

Still, the feeling to finally answer the question of "so what are we, Doctor?" Still ran through her head over and over at a hundred miles per hour. She was determined to ask, to change this day from "something that happened" into "something they did rather frequently and quite enjoyed it, thank you".

All she did was want it confirmed, and that felt ridiculous, and she felt shy about it all of a sudden, even in her current position. She pushed the thought from her head. Best to deal with matters like that when there wasn't an alien mucking about.

Well, an alien besides the Doctor, at least. Him, she figured, now she could handle. Quite well, actually.

Obviously no one had come to check on them, probably assuming that it would be best to leave the Doctor to tend to Rose all by himself. Even so, the door was locked, and she had to admire the Doctor's quick thinking to give them that bit of privacy.

But Rose still had to wonder if he was going to try to get the Entity in her body again.

Of course, she knew that would have to happen at some point, but did it have to be today? Twice within a few hours of each other made her tired just thinking about it. Tomorrow, she promised herself, she'd do what she was supposed to again, do as she was told. But for now, her tired body needed more sleep.

And she was that: tired. All of it, the Entity and the.... Well, the Doctor on the whole had proved to be very tiring, not that she was exactly complaining about that part of the whole "exhaustion" thing.

The only thing keeping her awake was the fact that she didn't know what had happened while she was "possessed". She couldn't remember how the Entity had been feeling or how she'd been feeling, only that she'd woken up screaming and crying. Before, at least, she'd gotten a grasp of the Entity's feelings, what it needed from her. Now? Nothing. A blank space where a bit of memories and emotions should be, which, though she wouldn't admit it, frightened her.

And obviously, if she was in her bed when she woke up, the Doctor would've had to touch her skin _somewhere_ to bring her up the stairs and to their room. Curiously enough, though, it seemed as though she hadn't woken up until she was in bed.

The Entity hadn't been willing to let go of her body. The same moment she realized this, she banished the thought. It was just a sad, lonely being, and she'd seen loads of those over the years, what was one more?

She decided she had to go through with it again. She had to. How could she say no to something that needed help? The only thing she didn't know was what the Doctor would think of her continuing. Surely he'd seen what had happened with her. Had she hurt him? Had the Entity entered her thoughts, as Cassandra had done? And oh, God, what had it found? What had it _said?_

Jolted by the thought, she turned slowly sin his arms to examine his body. The covers were tucked under his arm, giving her the freedom to take a closer look at his upper chest, head, and neck.

Checking to make sure he was still sleeping, she traces her fingers along his cheek. When he didn't stir, she moved to examine him, coasting her fingertips over his chest and shoulders. He was completely unmarked, she was pleased to note, except for scratches on his back that she (with no small amount of pride) realized were not from when she'd been possessed.

Satisfied, she pressed a light kiss to his forehead and laid back down on her back, head turned to the side, watching him sleep. She was wary to bury herself back in his arms when he was sleeping so soundly, since he did so quite rarely.

She let her eyes close and tried to get a bit more sleep to prepare herself for the rest of whatever madness was ahead. Before she could drift off, she felt and arm wrap around her waist and the Doctor's head pillow on her chest.

She smiled to herself and brought her arm up around his shoulders, recognizing his deep, even breaths of someone who was still in a calm sleep. She tried not to read into the fact that he subconsciously sought her out. Maybe it was just her warmth.

Warm. She was warm now. It didn't take hours and hours to feel warm again. Even with the chilled air hitting her neck, she found that she was comfortable. Not even the slightest bit overheated with the Doctor lying on top of her. She supposed she had the Doctor to thank for that.

But then again, she has the Doctor to thank for _other_ things too. She ran her fingers through his hair at the thought.

She let herself fall back asleep, into a black sleep with no dreams that carried her all the way to consciousness, making her feel blessedly and peacefully awake.

"Blessedly and peacefully" was very short lived on Rose's part. She rolled over as she was waking up and felt only cold sheets next to her.  Furrowing her brows, she ran her hand along the surface of the bed a bit more. Nothing.

She sat up abruptly, her eyes flying open and one had clutching the covers to her chest. She blinked uncertainly, glancing around the room.

Her suspicion was confirmed on an eye-sweep of the room.

The Doctor wasn't there.


	19. Chapter 19

Rose furrowed her brows at the door, trying not to panic.  Trying to scramble decency, even though she was alone in the room, she clutched the covers to her chest.  She tried to calm her breathing, feeling very anxious all of a sudden.  Telling herself she was foolish, she climbed out of bed and went to get dressed.  Upon touching her dress, she realized while she had been inhabited by the Entity, she'd sweated through it and muttered in disgust as she moved to the wardrobe to get a new one out. 

Because the Doctor had thoroughly destroyed her corset, she had to fish out a new one of those, too.  She hid the ruined corset in the back of the wardrobe, not wanting a servant to come in and find it.  She selected a deep golden-brown dress (Button down in the front, simply for convenience) with a ruffle of lace around the square neckline and gaping sleeves, which were tight until the elbows.

She didn't know how she was going to get into it all by herself, but she'd seen that someone could use bedposts to tie one's corsets, and she was determined to try it.  She started by putting on her slip, stockings, and other undergarments. 

Steeling herself, she mastered the art of tying her own corset, though she had to wipe sweat of her forehead several times along the way, and she struggled to tie the ends when she was finished, but she somehow managed.  She moved to slip the dress on, buttoning it up from the waist.  When that was finished, she gazed in the mirror and smoothed her hands down the skirt.  "Oh," she whispered, realizing for the first time that perhaps clothing from this time period really suited her. 

The next thing she noticed was the state of disarray her hair was in.  Not having a brush, she combed her hair with her fingers, just trying to get it to lay flat so no one would know what she'd really been up to.

She finished getting herself situated, slipped on a pair of matching heeled slippers the TARDIS had provided when packing for her, and exited the bedroom. 

Not quite sure where to head to meet anyone, and deep down, hoping to run into the Doctor, she moved as to walk downstairs.  She took a few steps and almost stumbled over her own feet, but caught herself on the railing.  Alright, so maybe she was still a bit weak from the Entity and... Well, other, less horrible things. 

Walking down the stairs very, very slowly, she ran into Marie just as she reached the bottom.

"Rose!  Shouldn't you be upstairs, resting?" She asked, grasping Rose's upper arms to steady her.

"Yes, perhaps, but I... I couldn't sleep any more."  She paused before continuing, saying what she really wanted to say.  "Where's my husband?"

Marie furrowed her brows worriedly, "He wasn't with you?" She asked slowly. 

"No, he's not with me, and he wasn't with me," Rose replied.  "You... You don't know where he is?"

Marie shook her head.  "No, I haven't seen him since he took you upstairs to calm you down.  You were in hysterics, are you alright?"

Rose nodded.  "Yes, I'm doing just fine, now, thank you.  I woke up and he wasn't in the room with me."

"That's odd," Marie seemed to be speaking more to herself than Rose.  "Ben and I have not seen him either.  I could ask Matthew if he has been with him.  Would that put you at ease?"

"Yes," Rose responded immediately, almost too fast, showing her worry.  "Yes, I'd like to see if he's been with Matthew."

Marie nodded slowly, still looking at Rose warily, and let go of her arms to lead her through the house to the kitchen.  "Matthew?" Marie called out.  A cook stood before them and nodded her head to Rose in greeting.

"Ma'am, Matthew is in the parlor.  He's been praying there for hours.  He's very worried about the goings-on that have been happening around here."

Marie hummed in agreement.  "As am I.  Would you happen to know if Doctor Smith was with him at all in that time?"

"No," the cook replied, "He has not been with him."

Rose had a wild suspicion that they were going on a wild goose chase for the Doctor and couldn't say she was very fond of the idea.  Every moment they didn't find him sent her anxiety skyrocketing.

He regretted it already.  He had to, for him to run off like that.  Was that all it was, just to get her warm and to swan off?  He acted as though... He acted as though he had wanted her, but she couldn't base all of that on her own muddled mind interpreting things.

"Shall we check the parlor?" Marie asked, turning to Rose.  She nodded mutely in response and trailed the other woman out of the kitchen, her mind numb. 

"I think we should rest for the rest of the day.  Do you enjoy painting, Rose?" Marie asked conversationally as they passed through the house.

"Yes," Rose responded, her voice a bit delayed, "I do like to paint now and then."

"Oh good!" Marie said cheerily, "We can paint this evening after supper.  I should have asked after you, are you hungry?"

Though Rose was, in fact, feeling a bit peckish, the rolling her stomach was doing wasn't helping her fight down being sick, so she shook her head. "No, that's alright.  I'd love to paint with you though, Marie."

Marie turned her head and smiled at Rose.  "Excellent!  I've a room for it, upstairs.  There are two very large windows, a lot of light is let in during the summer.  I have no doubt you'll enjoy it."

Rose forced her own face to smile back.  "Yes, that would be lovely."

They reached the parlor and Marie entered slowly, so as not to disrupt the praying Matthew.  Only he was not praying now, but sitting on the couch reading.  When he saw Marie enter, he got to his feet and set the book down on the table.  "Yes, mistress, what do you require?" He asked breezily.

"Nothing just now, Matthew, thank you," she replied easily.  "Mrs. Smith and I were wondering if you had, perhaps, crossed paths with her husband in the last few hours."

"More or less," Matthew said slowly, his face crinkling in what appeared to be confusion.

"What does that mean, 'more or less'?" Rose blurted out, "Did you see him?"

Matthew nodded, his eyes now focused on Rose.  "I saw your husband, just two hours ago, but I did not speak to him.  He appeared to be in a bit of a rush, as it were, and I didn't see fit to disturb him.  But... Mistress, didn't he say we shan't leave the house?"

The blood drained out of Rose's face at the words.  "What?"  Her voice was so soft she could barely hear it.  Luckily, Matthew still did.

"Mrs. Smith, I saw your husband, yes, but it was in passing.  He was muttering to himself.  As he left the house."


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had to post, it's Queen Billie's birthday

Rose felt sick.  The Doctor had just up and left, right there.  Where would he even have gone?  Back to the TARDIS?  To do _what_?  Everything they needed was here, he had the sonic.  She could only think of one plausible solution: he wanted to get away from her.

He regretted it already.

She felt her knees buckle underneath her and Marie grabbed her around the waist.  Somewhere in the distance she heard Matthew shout "Mrs. Smith!" as she was lowered down into a seating position on the couch.  She blinked a few times, clearing her vision.  "I'm sorry," she whispered, trying to still the shaking of her hands.

Marie clasped her shoulder gently with her hand.  "It is alright," she assured her.  "You have not been separated from your husband for a long time, have you?"

"No," Rose breathed.  "I've not been without him for two years, maybe a bit more.  I have to go find him.  He doesn't know this city."  She got to her feet suddenly, jostling Marie's hand from her shoulder in the process. 

"You did say you were travelers," Matthew reminded her, his brow furrowed in worry.  "Perhaps he has a better sense of direction than you give him credit for."

Rose resisted the urge to snort.  "No, no, I know that man like I know the back of my hand.  He'll be lost within the hour, I guarantee it."

Marie stood slowly next to Rose, as if afraid of startling her if she moved too quickly.  "Mrs. Smith, you've suffered great trauma today.  Perhaps it is better if you get some rest.  Would you like some tea?  We've biscuits as well, don't we, Matthew?"

Matthew nodded.  "I will return with your requests, Mistress," he said, and left the room.

Marie sat back down, tugging Rose down with her.  She sat heavily and looked over at Marie.  "I'm sorry, I really am, maybe I'm just... You know, overreacting a bit."

"He probably just went out to fetch something," Marie patted Rose's hand, "And didn't want to wake you.  I'm certain he'll be back before it's time for supper."

"And where's Ben?" Rose demanded, nearly steamrolling over Marie's reassuring words.

Marie blinked in surprise, not really expecting something like that, Rose thought.  "Well, he's upstairs, writing a letter."

"That's my point," Rose stood and started pacing.  "You know where he is, because he thinks to tell you things because he loves you, because he _wants_ you to know.  Let me guess, he popped in and told you he'd be in his study if you needed anything?"

Marie nodded very slowly, her eyes never leaving Rose's.  "Yes, he did, just a few minutes beforehand."

"The Do- Doctor Smith, he never thinks to do that," Rose sat back down heavily again, suddenly feeling exhausted, "He never thinks about what I might feel when he goes swanning off, sometimes leaving me alone."

"He does not mean to hurt you," Marie replied passionately.

"Most likely not," Rose agreed, struggling to keep with the dialect she was supposed to in her anger, "But he does it all the time, and how can someone do that to the person they-" she clamped her mouth shut, not bothering to finish.

"You do not consider leaving him!" Marie asked, her voice shocked.

"No, never," Rose replied, "I could never leave him, if there's one thing I know, I know that."

Marie let out a whoosh of air that sounded suspiciously like relief to Rose.  "Well, you are hardly a demure housewife, as well."

Rose could tell she did not mean the words as offensive and nodded in agreement.  "Neither of us could ever be demure."

They sat there together until Matthew brought the tea and biscuits and sent a worried gaze between the two women before supposedly remembering that it was not his place to say anything and darting out of the room.  Rose added two sugars (one for luck) and picked up the dainty cup to sip gently from it. 

"Are you feeling better?" Marie asked, stirring her own tea.

Rose shook her head.  "I worry for him.  I always do, I suppose.  And I hate to think that he might not have even wanted to tell me where he was going."

"I'm sure that is not true," Marie said. 

"I'll never know for sure, though," Rose traced her fingertip over the lip of her cup, her eyes cast down at the action instead of directed at Marie.  She didn't feel she could make eye contact with a woman who was so happy, so fulfilled in the man she loved.  She stared down into the tea.  "You are happy, yeah?"

There was a pause as Marie seemed to consider this.  "Yes," she said, "I am happy.  I live a good life, and that is all I could want or expect from a life.  Especially since I am a woman."

Rose nodded.  The values of this time were different, she had to remember, all of this, it was different.  Were it Shireen sitting next to her on this completely posh couch, she could've simply come out with it.  "Hey Shireen, I slept with my best mate, who I love to death, and I've got this really weird feeling that he regrets it."

She closed her eyes and tried to picture what her best friend would say under such a circumstance.

_"Babe, you just gotta live your own life.  He's just a man.  Do what you have to, not really to get back at him, but to do your own thing.  You know?"_

Rose almost nodded resolutely.  She set her cup down on the table.  "I've got to see if my husband left his tool here."

"The tool which glows blue?" Marie asked.  "Well, it is a possibility, Matthew mentioned he was a bit distracted.  Perhaps it is in your bedroom?"

Rose nodded.  "Yes, perhaps, let's go look."

Without offering any further explanation, Rose led Marie up the staircase and to hers and the Doctor's bedroom and started rooting through the bedsheets.  Panic overtook her as she ruffled the sheets, pushing her hands under them to feel for the cold metal.

"May I ask what you need the tool for?" Marie asked politely as she looked at the desk, gingerly moving inkwells and papers and the like.

Rose didn't hear her for a moment, so caught up in what she was doing the question didn't register.  Suddenly, it clicked in her mind and her head snapped up.  "Oh, yes, it's a sonic tool.  The Entity said we could trap it in it."

She paused, trying to figure out just how she remembered that when so many things were so fuzzy.  In the scheme of things, it really didn't matter though.  She needed it, the Doctor wasn't here, and that was that.

Finally, as she was bending over, looking beside the bed, she saw it: the glint of textured metal.  Letting out a cry of triumph, she snatched it up.  "Marie," she announced, "I'm going to teach you how to use this."

Marie blinked.  "What?  What for?"

"Because, my husband here or not, we're going to summon that Entity right back here and free it."

 


	21. Chapter 21

Rose felt herself get more and more fired up as each moment passed.  This was going to hurt, it was going to push her body to the breaking point, and if the Doctor were here, he would not be pleased with her behavior.  Somehow, that made her want to do it all the more, since he'd taken off without her.  How dare he.

"Rose!"  Marie cried out, poised as though she was going to run to Rose and grab the sonic screwdriver from her.  At the thought, Rose gripped it tighter.

They didn't have time to fool around.  Marie and Ben's lives were at stake, and they only had a matter of days.  She was going to save them, they had to.  Rose leveled her gaze at Marie and studied her for a moment.  "You have to promise to help me.  Believe me, it's to help you, in the end, we need to protect you and your husband and the rest of your household.  Trust me."

Marie watched her, her eyebrows drawn together in concern as she worried her lower lip.  "What do I need to do?" She asked quietly, her voice shaky.

Rose smiled softly, trying to calm her, knowing this was probably very frightening for her.  "Okay, we've got to get the Entity into this device, and I think I have an idea on how to get it in there.  I have to hold the device, you have to talk it into jumping into it, you know how to do that, yeah?"

"Talk to it?" Marie asked.  "Yes, I suppose, I could try to talk to it."  She said it firmly, feigning confidence, Rose could tell.

Rose nodded.  "Okay.  I'm going to call it.  You can't tell anyone we did this unless it works, alright?  Then I'll just lay down and sleep it all off."

"Not tell my husband?" Marie seemed conflicted, not wanting to lie to the one she loved.  Rose felt a little bit of resentment rise up in her.  Of course, the Doctor never felt conflicted about lying to her. Tonight was the night she'd have to do something, to prove to him that she was worthy of time and space and everything else that he was refusing to offer her.

"Yes," Rose replied tightly, "And not tell your husband."

She watched as the emotions flitted across Marie's face.  Sadness, despair, anger.  Marie felt trapped.  And she should.  Rose had backed her into a corner that would anger someone no matter who she chose.  She only hoped that Marie would realize she was not the one who needed any further angering. 

"Okay," She said quietly, her head lowering in defeat.  "I will speak the Entity and do my best to force it into the sonic device. 

Rose blew out her cheeks.  "Okay," she said firmly, "Then we're going to do it.  You can't panic, do you understand me?  Don't panic."

Marie nodded, raising her eyes back to Rose's and taking a step towards her.  "I will do my best to not be alarmed," she said steadily.  "I am ready."

Rose offered her a grateful smile and readjusted her grip on the sonic.  "We're calling you back again," Rose said loudly, glancing up at the ceiling.  "We can help you now, see?" She lifted the sonic.  "We've got the tool!  You can get in it, and my husband can run some tests and figure out how to set you free."

It was quiet for a long, terrible moment.  Rose huffed in annoyance, whereas before her heart would've stuttered in her chest, but she was just so.. _Annoyed._   She needed to fix this, all of it.  Hopefully before the Doctor was home for supper.  If he decided to return at all, that was.

"Alright, don't play games," Rose said, her voice harsh.  "Just... Just come on!  Get in, 'inhabit' me or whatever the hell it is you do!  Make me feel nothing!  And then Mrs. Glasser here and I are going to help you get into this thing," she shook the sonic in her hand.  "So come on!  I'm tired of waiting, I don't have time for this!"

Her heart was pounding in her chest when she started to feel it.  This time, the cold crept up from her toes, sneaking up her limbs.  She gave Marie a stiff nod while she was still able to do so.  The feeling moved up to her torso and coursed out into her arms and up into her neck and head.  She trembled and the sonic fell from her hand on top of the crumpled sheet that was on the floor. Her eyes rolled back into her head and her eyelids fluttered, and when she opened them again, they were blank.  "You are going to help," Rose's voice came, so hopeful. 

Marie's gaze darted to Rose's feet, where she had dropped the sonic, and held it out for Rose (or the Entity, as it were) to take from her.  "Yes, we're here to help, and you must take this device.  We cannot help you without it, and I think you know this.  You have to inhabit this instead of Rose.  Can you take it?"

Rose's gaze flitted tentatively from the sonic to Marie's face.  "Yes!  The device." Rose's brows furrowed, "But what if it were to hurt me?"

"It won't," Marie insisted, her heart thumping wildly in her chest, "It's going to help you, you've got to take it from me, and go into it."  She remembered something at the last moment.  "But you can't touch me when you do it, you know that too."  She moved so she was holding the end of the sonic with her fingertips.  "Like this."

"I don't want it to hurt anymore," the Entity said thoughtfully, looking conflicted, "But what if this will also hurt?  I will still be alone."

"You have to know what it will do to you," Marie said desperately.  "Please just take it, do what you must.  Please!"

Her hand was shaking, she was terrified, and she didn't even know what she was holding.  She'd never seen anything like it, and it scared her.  All of this, it was unfamiliar, and felt wrong, and she didn't know what she was doing.  Oh, if only Doctor Smith were here, he'd have to know something.  This was his tool after all, whatever it was. 

Where had he gone off to, anyway?

Rose's fingers, used by the Entity, were shaky in their own right, and it reached for the sonic and closed fingers around it, pulling it from Marie's grasp.

"I am afraid." 

Marie felt her heart go out to this poor thing.  "I know, I am too, but I trust Doctor Smith, the man who came up with this.  He is very clever, and he can help you.  This is how."

Just then the Doctor burst through the door, his eyes and hair wild, his tie loosened.  "Rose!" he shouted.  His gaze turned to Marie.  "What's she doing?"

Marie panicked, afraid she'd done something wrong.  "She's called the Entity back, she said she needed it.  It has your tool, it's about to enter it."

"She shouldn't have done this without me!" The Doctor shouted, his eyes blazing with a mixture of anger and fear, "She could've been hurt!  Not that I don't trust you, Marie, I do, but she is not safe.  We can't do this twice in one day, it will drain her body."

The Entity was staring at the Doctor, transfixed by his anger.  The Doctor locked eyes with it, and in turn, with Rose.

"Why is she doing it?" He asked lowly.

"She was angry, because you left," Marie replied.

The Doctor stalked up to Rose.  "I'll help you tomorrow," he promised the Entity, "But I can't let you damage this body any further today."

And with that, he grabbed Rose by the skin of her upper arms.


	22. Chapter 22

The first thing Rose felt when she came to was a fury so blinding that she could only feel the hands that had stopped the progress she had surely been making.  

There was only one person it could be, one person stupid enough to stop something so important because he was trying to 'save' her.  

Still lacking the ability to see, she shoved away from him, stumbling back into the end table by the bed and feeling the same hands on her again.

 Around now, she was accustomed to the cold latching onto her, but now, she felt only anger, burning hot, through her whole body, devouring her whole before she could even formulate a real, proper thought. So, without thinking, and not being able to form rational thought, only knowing that she was so angry at him, for so many reasons, for leaving her and coming back and leaving and coming back just in time to stop her doing some good for this damned universe, she slapped him.

  She felt him stumble back, and as a result, she no longer had a support and fell onto her hands and knees into the crumpled sheets she had dug the sonic screwdriver out of.  

She curled her fingers into the material, hoping against hope that Marie had left the room, since she still couldn't see, and why couldn't she see, exactly? 

Lunging at him again, she let it all pour out of her, getting another good smack in, not being able to punch him, never to hurt him more than the chastising she was giving him now, because, God help her, she loved him so much.

He seemed to be trying to stop her, but he wasn't fighting back, only trying to grab at her, not push at her or hurt her in return.

 She could hear his voice in the back of her head, behind the buzz of anger, and he sounded frantic and scared and that was good.  

He deserved it all. She pounced on him one last time, getting a good whack at the side of his head before collapsing onto the floor, completely spent and shaking with rage.

 She felt his hands at her, shaking her shoulders.  His voice was still there, he was still talking to her, anxiety creeping through the tones. How dare he.

 How dare he pretend that he wanted to help her, when she was so close to doing something useful, and without him for once.  She felt as he tried to lift her, and knew she was fighting and pushing him away from her, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

He deserved it, to feel sorry, he should feel sorry, for leaving her like that, after...  After everything that had happened.  He was holding her, trying to hug her, she could tell, but she was still fighting him.  Did he really think it was that easy, after all this?  Give her a hug and everything would be fine? With a force she didn't know she had, she shoved violently at the Doctor's chest and effectively pushed them away from each other, her head knocking against the nightstand.  

She blinked and her vision started to come back, blurry at first, but shades of brown coming slowly into focus.

  "Rose." She pushed back harder against the table, her senses coming back to her more clearly as the moments passed.  She found herself glaring at him, completely furious, as he sat sprawled on the floor, the first two buttons on his shirt torn off and an angry bruise already starting to form just under his eye.  

"Rose!" He was trying to get her attention, knew he had it physically, but not mentally.  

"What?" She spit out, backing herself up further.  

He prodded the skin beneath his eye, wincing when he found it tender.  "Rose, why did you do this?"

Any cold she may have been feeling shot out of her in that instant, and she shot a gaze like daggers at him.  "I was trying to save the world, you know, like we usually do.  Was bloody close to getting that thing in the sonic before you busted in."

"That's... Completely the inappropriate thing to do," the Doctor retorted.  "You should've waited for me."

"Well, to be fair, Doctor, I didn't know when you were coming back, if you were coming back at all."  

She crossed her arms defensively, not sure if she was trying to make herself bigger or smaller.  "So I thought I'd just go ahead with it."

The Doctor simply stared at her for several long moments, neither of them breaking the other's gaze, as if they were afraid to.  Then the Doctor brought in a heavy breath through his nose, watching her carefully. "You thought I wasn't going to come back?" 

Rose blinked.  That hadn't been the reaction she had been expecting when she'd started all this.  Of course she'd known he was coming back, because he always came back, but that really wasn't the point.  She was furious and had every right to be.  She shifted backwards so her back was against the end table.   "How was I supposed to know that?" Rose asked.  "No note, no nothing.  How was I supposed to know that you were coming back?  I thought maybe you were downstairs, I come down and Matthew says you've just sauntered out, muttering to yourself."

"But even with all of that, you had to know that I-"

"No, Doctor!  How was I supposed to know anything?" Rose asked, her tone frustrated and pitched.  "What else was I supposed to feel besides-" She clamped her mouth shut and glared at him.  

The Doctor looked at her curiously for a moment.  "Besides what?"

"It's not important," Rose snapped back, getting to her feet.  "I'm going for a walk."

"Are you cold?" The Doctor asked, almost as if he were analyzing her.

  "No.  Maybe I would've been if you let me finish what I'd been doing.  We could've been out of here and on the TARDIS by now if that were the case."

"You were the one that wanted to come here."

"And now I just want to leave," Rose bit back tears.  She couldn't stop thinking about how none of it was fair, how clearly it had all meant nothing to him, what had happened.  She walked to where Marie had laid the sonic screwdriver and tossed it to him.  "You can take care of your injuries with that, I'm sure."

He caught the tool and slid it into his inside breast pocket, never breaking his gaze from hers.  "Rose, I really think that it's best if we talked about this.  I want to know what you're feeling, and you should really rest, doing that twice in one day.  It was taxing on you, whether you think it was or not."  

"I'm feeling fine," Rose said finally, feeling energized by what had happened, still angry, but letting it simmer in the back of her brain as she turned towards the door again.

"Rose?" The Doctor asked, now all of a sudden sounding timid, as if he were afraid to talk to her about whatever this was, this thing they weren't addressing but both thinking about, mostly because neither of them could seem to stop thinking about it. She turned slightly, making it clear that she was still going to go for that walk and nothing he said, or was going to say, was going to change her mind.  She cocked her eyebrow at him, urging him to continue. He approached her, taking her by the shoulders and turning her to face him.  She let him, only because he looked so fragile, with the beginnings of a black eye and his eyebrows drawn together in worry.

"What?" She asked quietly, all the fight gone out of her, just wanting him to hug her.  

"Do you...  Do you want to go home?"


	23. Chapter 23

Rose watched him for a long moment after he said it, searching his eyes, seeing if he _wanted_   her to leave.  All she could see or process through his was fear, and the strange feeling that he was trying not to clutch at her for all he was worth, keep her here.  But still she watched.

And the more she watched, the more panicked she saw the Doctor become, fidgeting nervously, but never breaking his gaze from hers.  She drew her brows together and suddenly shook her head, as if he'd said something very foolish.

"No," she said quietly, "I don't want to leave, or go home."

She saw his fingers twitch at his sides, and the relief flood through him, relaxing his posture.  All of a sudden she wanted to apologize.  She had been the one to strike him, after all, so it really wasn't his fault.  And he hadn't done a thing to protect himself, he'd let her have at it.  But why?

"Really?" He sounded hopeful, "That's brilliant, that's... Yes, that's brilliant."

"Why did you leave?" She asked suddenly, hoping her intent for asking wasn't clear to him, though she could tell what it was, even through her own voice.  She fiddled with her fingers, looking down at them.  "Where did you go?"

The feeling of realization was almost palpable in the room as it came crashing down around them, and though Rose didn't see it, the Doctor's eyes widened considerably as he realized why she had been so upset.  Without thinking about her response, he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. 

Startled though she was, Rose wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest, letting her eyes flutter closed.  If this was as much of an apology as she was going to get from the Doctor, she was going to enjoy it, of that much she was certain.

She could feel his hearts thumping in his chest and had an odd feeling that he wanted to say something, so she squeezed his waist in encouragement, waiting for him to speak. 

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said softly, as if the moment his voice raised the Earth would implode.  "I went to the TARDIS, thought I would be back before you woke up.  I wanted something more stable for the Entity to be put into, something stronger than the sonic, and I thought of something, and..." He paused, burying his face in her hair.  "I can't imagine how that must have looked to you."

There was a pause, and Rose considered speaking, but he started up again.  "And I come back, and you're possessed again and Marie's got the sonic and I didn't know if the sonic was one hundred percent safe anymore and I was scared that you were hurt and angry that you'd gone ahead and done something so dangerous without me.  I thought I'd lose you."

"You didn't lose me the other times I did it," Rose mumbled.

"Not physically, but I cocked up the first time," the Doctor replied.

Rose waited, her heart beating faster, as she was scarcely hoping to dare that she understood what he was saying.  She took a step back from him and looked up into his eyes.  "And the..." She cleared her throat, "And the second time?"

They watched each other for what felt like forever.  Rose allowed her hands to remain on his waist, his locked together behind her upper back.  Nothing was said, and Rose was very aware that the Doctor might try to pull something stupid, like he usually did.

When more moments passed than Rose was physically comfortable with, she wrinkled her nose and pulled away from him completely, dislodging his hands from her. "Yeah, alright, I get it.  Lowly human, me.  That's alright."

She wanted to believe it was alright, that this didn't bother her, that that night wasn't the most important night at all.  Sod Jimmy and Mickey and every other man for the rest of her life; she knew she'd never find a man who had loved her like the Doctor had.  At least, that's what she thought it had been.  Turned out she was just the stupid ape, after all. 

"No."

Turning to face him, she furrowed her brows.  "What?"

"You are not some 'lowly human'," he clarified, "There are humans who are lowly, yes, but you're not one of them.  Why would you say that?"

Did he really have to have it spelled out for him.  She sighed and squared her shoulders at him.  "Because I haven't woken up in a cold bed after a night like that since I was with Jimmy, Doctor.  Would it have killed you to leave a note?"

There.  She'd said it.  He bristled at the mention of her ex, one she'd told him enough about that he would be disgusted with the comparison.  As much as Rose didn't like to admit it, that was sort of the point.  He'd sort of been a prat, and to be fair, so had she.  A right pair they were. 

He opened and closed his mouth a few times.  "I didn't think to," he blurted out, "I don't know how to do this."

She cocked her head, genuinely confused.  "Do what?"

He waved his hands vaguely at her.  "This!  This... Affection, and actually meaning the affection, not touching someone because you've been bonded and have a child, but because you feel like you'll combust if you don't touch them.  I've never had to leave a note.   I was married before, Rose, and I never left a note.  I never wanted anything with her."

"Bet she loved that."

"She didn't care!  That's why..." He sighed and made an effort to look her in the face.  "That's why I didn't leave a note.  I didn't know you'd want that, or that it would hurt you if I didn't.  All I knew was that when I woke up and you were there and I knew I had to go to the TARDIS, I didn't want to get up.  I complained about it to myself all the way out the door."

Rose's lip twitched, "Matthew did say you were mumbling."

"And that's why."  He was completely serious, and she had to admit it tugged at something within her.  He took a tentative step towards her, and when he saw that she would allow it, covered the rest of the distance and cupped her cheek in his hand.  "I have absolutely no idea what to do with you."

Something sparked in her skin when he touched her and Rose smiled.  With her heel, she felt out the open bedroom door and kicked it shut, startling the Doctor nearly out of his trainers.  She waited until his eyes were back on hers.  "Then let me show you."


	24. Chapter 24

He looked confused for a moment, clearly not understanding her intentions. But, he looked intrigued as well. She covered his hand where it was on her cheek, keeping him there, not that he was considering moving.

He watched her, studied her, waited for clarification. When Rose realized he was waiting on her to speak, she cleared her throat.

"Sometimes I forget you're not human," she admitted, "That the games humans play when it comes to relationships don't apply to you."

"But they do," the Doctor blurted out. "I've been playing games with you, hurting you left and right and never realized it. You can't tell me that's not true."

"No, I can't, but it's not intentional, what you do, because like you said, you have no idea what to do with me."

"I thought I did," the Doctor said, "I wanted to seduce you."

Rose lifted her eyebrows. "You were successful."

The Doctor grinned at that, making Rose roll her eyes. Maybe this was something they could come back from after all. Not something they could come back from just as friends, but something nonetheless.

"I don't think I did it right, though. You deserve more than what I gave you the other night," he said it softly, like he was afraid she'd realize he was right and hit him again.

Rose dropped her hand from his and instead lifted her fingers to the bruise. "I didn't give you what you deserve either, Doctor. I was wrong. I'm sorry."

As if he was unable to take it anymore, he choked on a sob and dropped his hands to her waist, heaving her close to him. Her arms went around his neck on instinct and they clung to each other.

"I didn't know, Rose. You shouldn't be apologizing. I should be. I don't know how to do this, any of it! You're the expert, among the two of us."

"Just better at human studies," Rose replied. "Been around them longer."

He was quiet for a moment, and she could tell that he was trying to reign himself in before things got too emotional. He heaved a few deep, steady breaths and pulled her tighter to himself. "I want you to teach me."

Rose thought for a moment, because she didn't know exactly what she was supposed to teach him, what a man with this vast a knowledge could possibly learn from her. She thought about pretending to know what he meant, but decided that if there was one thing the two of them needed, it was honesty, and trust.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked quietly, almost afraid of breaking him, with as close as they were right now. He felt fragile.

He seemed to be thinking, being careful how to word it. She waited for his response and waited until he heaved a heavy sigh. "You have to teach me what I'm doing wrong."

She didn't answer for a moment. "For starters, leave notes," she said blandly, "Don't play with my emotions."

"I never intended to," he said earnestly.

"I know. But you asked."  She pulled back to look him in the face, feeling as though she needed to look him in the eyes for the next bit. His eyes were immeasurably sad, and she suddenly felt very, very guilty indeed. She brushed her fingertips over the bruise under his eye. "I'm sorry.".

He pushed into her touch and closed his eyes.  "I deserved it," he breathed.

She almost smiled at that, but instead leaned closer to him and let her breath play across his mouth. She needed him to be the one to say something, to finish what had been started.

It didn't take him long to take the hint. He pushed her back slowly the couple of steps before she hit the door and moved his hand from her waist to lock it. He watched her for a moment.  "My Rose," was the only thing he could managed to get out.  It was almost a question.  He was waiting, and she could now give him an answer.

She smiled at him and traced his cheek with her pointer finger. "Yours," she agreed, feeling a weight lifting from her chest as she said it, as she finally told him.  The smile that lit his face was like nothing she'd ever seen before, and her own grin widened at his excitement.

He seemed hesitant, and Rose suspected that he really needed to wait.  His hands held her waist, keeping her steady and close to him.  He tightened his grip on her.  "I hate the corset," he blurted out, "I think it makes you something you're not."

She bit her lip and watched him carefully.  He looked at her hopefully.  He was giving her an opening, an opening she fully intended to take.  She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his ear.  "Then take it off me," she whispered.

He shivered and pulled back to look at her.  "Rose, can I kiss you?  Please, I need you to trust me again, please."

"Yes."

He pulled her flush against him and kissed her, his arms winding completely around her back, lifting her slightly.  She locked her arms around his neck, nearly sobbing at the relief of the tension between them shattering.  They'd both been so unfair to each other, and it had been awful. 

They needed to face the Entity situation as a team, and Rose had a feeling that they'd be an even stronger team than before now.  She felt utter joy at the prospect until she felt a tear against her cheek, and it wasn't her own.

She pulled away and cupped his face in her hands.  "What's wrong?" She asked urgently, afraid she'd done something wrong. 

"I don't deserve you," he whispered, "You know what I've done, Rose.  How can you possibly understand what you're getting into?"

"We've both committed genocide, Doctor," Rose whispered, "We're the best sort of people for each other."

That seemed to appease him.  He kissed her again, this time gently and with a reverence she didn't know he would show her, ever.  But here he was, savoring her, and pulling her close, close, closer still. 

They kissed for what felt like eons and not enough time at all before the Doctor pulled away and tipped his forehead against hers.  "Did you mean what you said?"

"Which bit?" She asked absent mindedly.

"The part about me taking the corset off of you."

Rose smiled.  "Yeah, I meant that."

She should've expected that the Doctor would have excellent hands, because he easily attacked the buttons on the back of her dress without turning her around.  She realized with a jolt that he was doing it like that so that he could still hold her.

"I'm sorry about your eye," she said quietly, her fingers still firmly in her hair.

He paused to kiss her again before continuing on for the buttons.  "You know, I think you might just have to make it up to me."

She stilled his movements as he was working on the last button.  "I really am sorry."  She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed the tender skin gently.  His eyes fluttered closed and she did it again.  He pulled the dress forwards towards her hands and she took the hint, stepping back and letting the dress fall to the ground.

"I know you're sorry," he replied, "But I suppose I really did deserve it," he turned her around and swept her hair away from her neck before starting on the corset.  He leaned forward to kiss her neck as he undid the laces, murmuring words she couldn't understand against her skin.

The second the corset was off of her, she whipped around and wrenched his jacket from his shoulders, shoving it roughly to the ground.  She whipped off his tie as well, throwing it over her shoulder, more than ready to forget it. 

He ducked his head and crushed his mouth to hers, cupping her face between his hands.  He held her tenderly and only stopped when she had to breathe.

"You and me," he gasped out.

She guided him towards the bed and shoved him so he was sitting on it, and she stood between his thighs, her hands on his shoulders.  "You and me."


	25. Chapter 25

He watched her with nothing short of reverence, his hands going tentatively to her hips, as though he wasn't quite sure she wanted him there, so close to her skin.  She wrapped her fingers around his wrists and pressed his hands harder against her.  His eyes fluttered closed at that and she tried to repress a grin.

"You shouldn't have stopped me, though," she said lowly, running the fingers of one hand up into his hair. 

He looked up at her.  "I don't want you to get hurt.  Ever.  You could've been hurt."

She nodded, feeling that he was being painfully honest.  She smiled slightly at him and accepted it.  "I know."

He seemed to breathe out a sigh of relief and stood up to pull her into a hug.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed him in, but abruptly pulled away to wrench his button down off of him.  "You are far more clothed than I," she told him.  He grinned and aided her efforts.

"I agree," he announced as they continued to unbutton the shirt together.

She pulled the tails of his shirt out of his trousers and shoved the shirt so it fluttered to the floor.  She examined him, still wearing a tshirt underneath all of that.

"You really do wear too many layers."

"Maybe I should stop that."

"Maybe you should."

Before they could get any further, they were kissing again, his mouth on hers, demanding but gentle, keeping her safe, always keeping her safe.  It was something she felt sure about, like she would never doubt him again.

It was so different from their first coming together, banishing the cold from Rose's body, her mind in a haze.  This time she felt everything, every twitch of his fingers against her waist, every stutter of his lips against hers when she did something particularly naughty. 

He whispered words to her that she had no hope of understanding, but reveled in all the same, knowing that he meant something lovely.  In the back of her mind, she felt the whisper of a presence that was not the Entity. 

"You and me," she'd repeat to him over and over.

He laid her gently on the bed, holding himself over her with infinite care, and watched her for a moment.  "Forever," he whispered, lifting a hand to stroke her cheek.

She nodded, agreeing with him, and tried not to choke on the words as she repeated it back to him.  "Forever."

***

She woke up what felt like hours and hours later, her arm around the Doctor's waist and her head pillowed easily on his chest.  She lifted her head and blinked at him.  He'd stayed there.  Her eyes lifted to the bedside table and her lip twitched.  In addition, he'd also left a note.

_Rose,_

_Am I less awful now?_

_Yours,_

_The Doctor_

She smiled down at him and laid her head on his chest again. "Mine."  Liking the way the word sounded in her mouth when directed at him, she grinned wider.  "Mine."

He stirred underneath her, cuddling into her, his face firmly in her hair.  He hummed against her head and she could feel that he was definitely awake.

"You know, I think I might like waking up this way quite a bit," he remarked, his voice muffled by her hair.

"Do you, then?" Rose asked teasingly.

"Mm.  Might have to do it like that every day."

She giggled and rose to look down at him.  "Which bit?"

He raised his eyebrows.  "All of it, I was hoping."

She moved so they were eye to eye and lay her head on the pillow very close to him.  "I like that idea quite a lot," she said honestly. 

He smiled widely.  Not that he'd been expecting her to reject him, but, well, it was nice to hear.  He pulled her into a sort of horizontal hug and buried his face in her neck.  "You know, it's getting dark, we'll have to go down for supper or they'll come looking for us."

Rose shuddered.  "Don't want that."

"No, I suppose not."

Groaning, she rolled out of his embrace and moved from the bed, trudging over to the wardrobe.  She turned to see him laying with his hands behind his head, just staring at her. 

"What?"

He blushed and glanced away for a moment before moving to gaze at her again. "You just... You look... You're lovely."

It was her turn to blush then, and she started pulling underthings and the rest of the rest of the assorted clothes she needed from the wardrobe.  "Shut it."

"It's true!"

She chose to ignore him, tugging her underthings on.  "Pick a color," she demanded.

He thought for a moment.  "Red," he said decidedly.

"We'll say I sweated through my other dress," she said, pulling out a red gown with three quarter sleeves and a square neckline that was a bit much, but Rose figured if she could tease the Doctor through dinner with it, it would be worth it.

They got themselves dressed and headed down to dinner, with Rose leaning heavily on the Doctor (mostly as a ruse, to show her weakness) and they met with Marie and Ben in the parlor.

Ben shot to his feet when they entered.  "Is everything alright?" he asked worriedly.

Rose nodded.  "I was foolish," she said meekly.  "Twice in one day, it was too much.  I needed some rest."

Marie nodded.  "You were very stressed," she said carefully.  "Perhaps we could try again tomorrow?  None tonight."

"None tonight," Rose agreed.

"I've spoken with her about it," The Doctor said, patting her hand.  "We will no longer be doing things of that nature without the other around."

"I agree, Doctor Smith," Ben nodded. 

"You just needed some rest," Marie said, rising and laying a hand on Rose's shoulder.  "We should have supper now, and you must get back to bed."

Rose agreed.  She was tired, more challenged mentally then she'd ever been.  "I think that must be best."

They had supper quietly, but talked, speaking of their lives, what they did, and Rose and the Doctor told very edited stories of their travels, which Ben and Marie found immensely interesting.  It was quite a lot for people of that time to take in, Rose understood, and she also understood their intense interest. 

Marie sat back in her seat.  "Well, were we not trying to begin a family, I should think that we would like to travel as well."

"Oh, having a family is an adventure in itself," the Doctor promised her.  "I'm sure you'll find it just as satisfying."

Rose resisted the urge to toss him a smile.

They got up to go to bed, exchanging goodbyes and cheek kisses and handshakes, and they parted ways.  Rose noticed that Marie wore a worried expression on her face, and her heart went out to him.  She was concerned for her, and if she was honest, sometimes she worried about herself as well.  It was a lot to handle.

The Doctor released her from her corset and she stripped down to just her nightshift, carefully hanging up and folding the clothes she'd worn for just a couple of hours.  Lovely clothes, honestly, though she was starting to miss the simplicity of jeans and t-shirts and hoodies.  Soon, though, once they were done with all this, they could keep on exploring. 

She threw herself into the bed and waited for the Doctor to join her.  "Are you going to sleep?" She asked him loudly.

The Doctor, who was sliding on jim jams of his own, nodded slightly.  "For a few hours, yes.  I'll read for the rest of the time."

She nodded and closed her eyes.  She felt the bed dip next to her as he sat down on the bed and made to slip under the covers.  He tutted quietly.  "Didn't even bother waiting for me."

"Nope, guess not," she said, rolling towards him and cuddling up to him. 

He poked her to get her attention.  "Look at me."

She tilted her head to look at him.  He leaned up to kiss her softly and tenderly.  When he pulled away, he explained, "I plan on taking advantage of all goodnight kiss privileges."

She giggled and snuggled up to him more.  "Sure.  I think I could agree to that."

"Could you?"

"I think so."

Rose fell asleep feeling lighter than she had in ages. 


	26. Chapter 26

Rose woke up with a Time Lord using her as a pillow.  Somehow, in their sleep, they'd maneuvered so that he was completely curled around her side, his arm wrapped around her waist and head in the space between her shoulder and his chest.  Her arm had worked its way up around his shoulders, her face turned into his hair.  She grinned at the domesticity of it.

The Doctor hummed in the back of his throat and stretched, and Rose assumed that was his way of telling her he was awake.  She lifted her hand and ran her fingers though his hair in response.  She felt him smile against her skin and press a kiss to her collarbone.

"Good morning," she said, her voice groggy.

He shifted up so he was eyelevel with her on the pillows and stroked the backs of his fingers along her jaw.  "That it is."

Rose giggled and shoved at his chest.  "That's very cheesy."

"That's alright, isn't it?" The Doctor asked worriedly, his eyebrows drawing together.  "The cheese?"

She cupped his cheek softly and looked up at him, making it very clear that she was going to assuage his fears.  "It's you.  It's good."

He responded with a whoosh of a sigh and kissed her.  She responded eagerly until he pulled away from her suddenly and groaned, rolling onto his back.  "We need to get up or we... Will never get up."

She had to laugh because she knew he was right.  "Okay, let's get up and get rid of this thing."

The Doctor agreed enthusiastically and picked out a green dress for her to wear and, while grumbling, laced her into a corset.  The two of them were prepared in no time and headed down the stairs before Matthew could come up and fetch them.  

She liked how it felt, her arm tucked through his, properly belonging to him for the first time as they got down to the dining room, Marie and Ben already waiting down there for them.

"Are you feeling well?" Marie blurted out, pushing all formalities to the side, standing up to grab Rose's hands in her own.

Rose smiled in return and gave her hands a squeeze.  "Yes, I am.  I think I just needed some rest.  I apologize for my behavior yesterday, it was... Rash."

"You were under much stress," Ben said comfortingly.  "Come, sit, and eat, we can sort this out after breakfast."

Rose was hit again with how kind these people were.  Certainly, she hadn't behaved with decorum yesterday, and she was vaguely surprised that they wanted to keep them around.  She wasn't exactly a typical housewife, beating up on her husband.  Luckily, they'd not seen the bruise, thanks to the Doctor's superior biology.

They discussed Marie and Ben's life instead, and Rose really did try to not be bored out of her mind.  They lived such simple lives, and they liked it.  She supposed it was because they didn't know anything else.  All she knew was that occasionally they would look over at each other and seem so in love that her heart almost ached. 

She glanced over at the Doctor as Ben spoke of his (very boring) job, and found him already watching her, a soft smile on his face.  She snuck her hand under the table to squeeze his knee and his smile towards her widened before going back to his plate. 

"What are your plans to rid us of the Entity, Doctor?" Ben asked at the first opportunity to change the topic.

The Doctor didn't seem to be expecting that question.  He took a long gulp of water and lifted a shoulder.  "The plan is to trap it, and Rose and I can set it free."

"Where are you going to take it?" Marie asked worriedly, "Will it be alright?"

Rose nodded.  "We'll take it somewhere where it can be-" She cut a glance at the Doctor, "Secluded.  Someplace safe for it and everyone else in the world.  It'll be alright."

"But it will be alone, and that is exactly what it does not want," Ben pointed out.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The plan was not to tell Marie and Ben exactly what was going on, to say that they were taking off to another world to deposit the Entity back to its home planet, and it was probably on Earth by accident.  He cleared his throat, "There may be another species, or another Entity, that it may be compatible with.  Rose and I will stop at nothing to find it."

"You are a very noble pair," Marie said, smiling at them.  Rose could tell, probably a bit more so than the Doctor, that she really did mean that.  If only she knew what they were really up to.  She would probably think them far less noble and far more stupid.

"Yes," Ben agreed with his wife.  "We cannot thank you enough for what you are doing here."

"It's our pleasure," Rose replied, before the Doctor could say something stupid.  

A moment later she promptly tried not to jump as the Doctor's hand landed on her knee.  She turned to look at him but he was not looking at her, playing it casual.

Oh.

The Doctor moved his thumb in a circular motion on her knee.  Didn't he see that she was trying to have an adult conversation and he was really, really not helping? 

Of course, he seemed to have _adult_ intentions of his own, but nothing involving the universe saving that they had come here for to begin with.  Ignoring to urge to lean over and snog him within an inch of his life, she smiled.  "You're very kind to let us stay on here as we do our research."

"You are kind to help us," Ben replied, raising his eyebrows.  "You were not required to do so."

The Doctor's hand moved slightly up Rose's thigh and her eye twitched in response.

"Absolutely."

Oh, and there he was, sitting cockily in his seat and smiling and not even looking at her.  If they finished this today, the snogging-within-the-inch-of-his-life was going to become a reality.  She shifted slightly.  "Well, I think we'll be ready whenever the two of you are."

Ben checked a pocket watch that was attached to his waistcoat with a chain.  "Ah, yes, well, we can begin now, if Rose is feeling rested."

Rose nodded.  "Yes, I'm feeling fine."

"Alright, then," The Doctor said, grinning, running his hand all the way up her leg before clapping his hands and standing up.  "Let's start."

Rose shivered and watched as Ben and Marie stood up and started to lead the way towards the family room. 

Rose stood up and grabbed the Doctor's collar.  "You need to stop," she hissed at him.

"Why?" He threw her a crooked grin.  "Can't control yourself?"

She blushed furiously.  She lunched forward and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before following after them, a smiling Doctor trailing along behind her.


	27. Chapter 27

The little party made their way into the parlor, where Ben and Marie turned around to watch the Doctor and Rose closely.  The Doctor ushered Rose in before him.  "I want you sitting for this," he said firmly, and helped her to sit on one of the couches before perching himself next to her. 

"When you were... Out, yesterday, did you find anything, Doctor Smith?" Marie asked tactfully as the Doctor fiddled with the sonic screwdriver.

The Doctor looked up at her, as though he had absolutely no idea that she had any intention of speaking.  "Oh, yes."  He reached for his pocket and then watched the two of them carefully.  "This isn't something you can tell your friends about after we leave," he warned them.  "This is technology way beyond its time, and for your eyes only.  Is that understood?"

Marie and Ben nodded firmly, seeming to understand the gravity of the situation.  The Doctor pulled a circular metal device from his pocket and laid it down on the table in front of the couch Rose sat on.  It was the same color and texture as the sonic screwdriver, with a large blue light in the center of it.  Rose thought it looked rather like an inner tube that had a very small hole instead of a large one, with a light in it.

"This is a more powerful version of this tool," The Doctor told them, holding up the sonic screwdriver.  "This won't break when the Entity enters it.  It won't be able to get out without me letting it out, either.  So, here we go."  He threw them a disarming smile.  "Go ahead, sit down, we may be here awhile."

As Marie and Ben took their seats, the Doctor handed Rose the sonic.  "You need to hold this until the Entity gets in your head.  After that, you should hold onto it by yourself, but I need these lovely fingers right around it, okay?"

He sounded nervous, so Rose smiled and nodded, tightening her fingers around the tool for his own reassurance.  "Got it," She said.

He returned her grin and pressed a quick kiss to her temple before backing up from her, knowing he'd have to get away from her.  No skin to skin contact was quite difficult now that it was explicitly (in both senses of the word) allowed.  He folded his hands in his lap to keep himself from reaching out to touch her in any way, his back against the corner of the small couch.

"Ready?" Ben asked anxiously from where he was leaning forwards in his seat.  All eyes went to him, as though no one was expecting anyone else to speak.

"Ready when you are, Rose," The Doctor said.  "Tell it this is the last time we have to do this, that might help get things through faster.  Okay?"

She levelled her gaze with him and nodded.  "Okay."

She turned to look down at the Doctor 's new device.  "Do you see this?" She asked, and it was obvious to everyone in the room hat she wasn't talking to anyone who was currently seated in the room with her.  "We've got this thing.  It's gonna be like... A carriage of sorts, to take you home.  But you've got to get into me first, I can get you to it.  Sound good?  Do you want to go home?"

Rose's eyes fell shut and when they opened again, it was clear who was in control.  The Doctor had to fist his hands at his sides so that he didn't reach out for her and bring her back.  Oh, how he hated this. 

"Home," Rose's voice said wistfully, a soft tone echoing through the room.  Her hand raised and she looked at the sonic screwdriver.  "Home."

"Okay, you've got to listen to me now," The Doctor said quietly, so he wouldn't scare the Entity.  It slowly turned Rose's head to look at him and watched him attentively.

"She is so happy," The Entity whispered.  "I want to be as happy as Rose."

"You will be.  I'm going to take you home."

The Entity grinned widely.  "Yes, yes!  What must I do?"

The Doctor smiled and pointed at the wheel shape on the table.  "Do you see the sonic tool in Rose's hand?"  He waited until the Entity looked at it and he smiled.  "Yes, that's the one!  I need you to point at the big one with it, and then press the button.  That will transport you and then you can go home."

The Entity made an odd little humming sound.  "Home!"

The sound of the sonic screwdriver filled the room.  Green mist poured from Rose's mouth and travelled down her arm and into the sonic screwdriver.  For a moment the Doctor had the horrible feeling that it wouldn't work, that he'd made an awful mistake, but after a few seconds the green soul poured from the sonic screwdriver into the larger device onto the table, where it was then at rest.

The Doctor blew out a sigh of relief as Rose fell limp, the screwdriver falling form her fingertips.  He gathered her into his side to keep her as warm as possible and smiled at Marie and Ben.  "You know, we've just done it."

"I've never seen anything like that!" Ben burst out.  "That was... That was remarkable!"

Marie blinked a few times and turned her attention to the shaking woman in the Doctor's arms.  "Rose?" she asked quietly. 

"I'm okay," She assured them, "I'm just going to try to warm up."

"The sooner we take the Entity the better," the Doctor said, gently, so as not to break their hearts.  "We should be getting our suitcases and going.  It might be a long journey to find this little one's home."

He didn't miss Marie's face fall, but she nodded.  "Yes, of course, I'll have Matthew fetch them for you." 

"I want to thank you," The Doctor said hurriedly, before she could stand, "For everything you've done to help us, and for being our friends as well.  You have been so hospitable to us."

"It is our pleasure," Ben smiled.  "I suppose you will not be returning?"

"We don't stay in one place long," Rose admitted, trying to subtly cuddle closer to the Doctor.  "But if we head this way again, you'll be our first stop."

"We promise," The Doctor agreed, and Rose grinned.

After long and semi-tearful goodbyes that did wonders for warming Rose up, Ben and Marie led the Doctor and Rose out of the house.  The Doctor slid both sonic tools into his pocket, securing them there, and smiled at the other couple. 

"Thank you again," Rose said, her voice genuine and her gratefulness written all over her face.  "I'm glad we could help you."

"You're both so odd," Marie laughed, shaking her head.  "Go with God, Doctor and Mrs. Tyler.  We hope to see you again."

"Go with God," The Doctor and Rose said in reply.

With that and a smile, the Doctor and Rose headed off, arm in arm, back towards the TARDIS.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Back to the Future Day!  
> Thanks for the love on this story! The new one will be up soon, I've already started it :)

Rose had to admit that she wasn't really that into the idea of leaving their new friends behind, but she had to admit they hadn't really been that good of friends.  So she followed along with the Doctor, her arm in his, drinking in as much of the 1860s as she could before they left.  

The summer heat seemed to do more bad than good to these people, the women fanning themselves in the heat, their cheeks flushed.  The men seemed to be trying to pretend they weren't warm at all, though every once in a while one of them would give a flap of the coat to cool off just a touch.

"You're observing," The Doctor said quietly, breaking her from her thoughts.

She shrugged.  "It's like I said before. This day is dead and gone. I shouldn't even be here, and we ended up saving lives that are gone anyways."

"We saved lives that are important," the Doctor countered. "Very important, very good, and by the way, Rose Tyler, without you I wouldn't have been able to do it."

Rose grinned. "That's why they died, isn't it?" She asked, "In the... In the previous timeline. Because they were both inhabited by the Entity at different times, and it stayed too long. It just wanted help, but it didn't really know the damage it was doing to them."

The Doctor nodded. "It was scared, so it reached out the only way it knew how."

Rose hummed in agreement, feeling satisfied. "And me?"

"Bad Wolf," he said bluntly.

"And I'm not cold anymore, but the heat isn't getting to me either."

"You're probably still a bit chilled," he told her as they approached the TARDIS, "So your body doesn't register the heat as much as it normally would."

He opened the door to their blue box open and she entered, throwing him a grin as she passed. He followed her and shut the door with a flourish behind him. "Right!" He ran up to the console and pulled the bigger sonic device out of his pocket, fitting it into a crevice on the console that it had probably been based on. "This will track the origin of the Entity and we can take it home. Go get into some regular clothes, you know how we are with the running."

"And you hate the corset."

"And I hate the corset. A lot. Go on, then."

She beamed over her shoulder at him before darting down the TARDIS corridor, stroking one of the walls on the way in greeting.  She nearly tripped over her skirts before remembering to lift them as she ran towards her room. 

The door swung open for her and Rose giggled.  She looked up at the ceiling.  "Miss me?" She asked happily as she entered her room.  She sighed at the familiarity of it but really knew she didn't have a lot of time to get sentimental.  After all, she wanted to see the planet that the Entity lived on.

As if sensing her urgency, Rose felt the inside of her dress loosen.  The TARDIS really was a brilliant ship, she reminded herself as she took off the over dress and slid the loosened corset off of her.  She quickly changed into a t-shirt, hoodie, and jeans, breathing a sigh of relief as she finally slid her feet into her trainers.

After brushing her hair and teeth rather thoroughly, she headed back out to meet the Doctor where he was in the console room.  He was leaning his back against it, waiting for her.  His face lit up in a smile and he stepped forward to pick her up into a crushing hug.  She had to laugh as she wrapped her arms around his neck.  "You just saw me," she said.

"I know," the Doctor shrugged and moved back to the console.  "But I've got some news.  I've found the planet the Entity originates from.  It's called an Oxrid originally and is from the planet Orixcod."

Rose gave him an odd look in response.  

"I know, it's not... Come on, Rose, you've heard weirder ones than that."

"Fair enough," Rose shrugged, bouncing on the balls of her feet.  "Are we there then?"

"Almost," The Doctor nodded to the console.  "We are en route."

Rose threw herself onto the jumpseat.  "And you know how we're going to release it back into its home?"

"It should be relatively simple, but," he flapped a hand vaguely in her direction, "Hard to explain in English."

Rose nodded, accepting the response and content to watch him pilot them to where they had to be.  They landed relatively smoothly, Rose only felt like vomiting once, and they let the TARDIS with both sonic devices in hand.

Orixcod was a mostly barren planet filled with Oxorids not unlike the Entity they currently had in their possession.  Rose supposed they didn't need a lot of plants and animals when they were a gaseous species.  

As if reading her thoughts, the Doctor leaned down to whisper in her ear, "They feed off of natural gasses of the air.  It's virtually the same as Earth, and they can leave the atmosphere at will.  Our little friend here probably thought it was going home and ended up lost on Earth instead."

Rose turned to look at him, almost brushing their noses together.  "How come it didn't just go back home?"

"It was scared," The Doctor responded, his eyes zeroing in on hers.  "And it didn't know about Earth, only that it was there and didn't know which way was home."  As if unable to resist, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips before walking a few steps in front of her.  "Let's release it, shall we?"

He offered her a smile and she approached him.  They both sat down on the barren ground with the large sonic device in front of them, the screwdriver in the Doctor's hand.

Rose looked around at the green spirits whizzing around them.  She'd never been a fan of the color, but somehow, the way they moved was so graceful and filled with a joy she could somehow feel, and it made her laugh, simply because she could tell that they were happy.  

The Doctor smiled over at her and reached his free hand out to slip it into hers.  They watched each other for a moment and the Doctor pointed the screwdriver at the other device.  After an odd ticking sound came from it, it made its standard buzzing sound and the bigger sonic device split open, slowly and mechanically.  It made a hissing sound as it opened, and the green soul inside seemed to awaken.  It shifted slowly and then shot into the air at top speed.

The feeling of joy seeped through the Doctor and Rose and she turned to him, grinning.

"Do you feel that?" She asked.  "What is it?"

"They're thanking us," The Doctor beamed as he helped her to her feet.  "We've brought their brother back."

Rose was unable to contain the happy grin off her face as his hand slipped into hers and he led the way back into the TARDIS.  She turned back to him and watched him carefully.  "Okay, now what?" 

"Now, it's you and me, Rose Tyler, and we can go anywhere you want."

She didn't find it in her to leave just yet, not when she'd properly found it.  "I think you and I have earned a holiday."

He raised his eyebrows.  "We can go anywhere you want."

"No, no, an in-TARDIS holiday, pool, beach, garden, all of it.  Alright?"  She gave him a teasing look and he responded with a big grin.

"Anywhere you want."

The Doctor and Rose Tyler, having a oddly domestic holiday in the TARDIS after saving the world again.

Just as it should be.  


End file.
